University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  WEST  SERIES 

EDITED  BY  RIPLEY  HITCHCOCK 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER 


Story  of  the  ftlest  Series. 

EDITED  BY  RIPLEY  HITCHCOCK. 
Each,  illustrated,  tamo,  cloth,  $1.50. 

Cbe  Story  of  the  Railroad. 

By  CY  WARM  AN,  author  of  "  The  Express   Messenger," 
etc. 

"  Far  more  interesting  than  the  average  novel.  .  .  .  Makes  us  feel 
and  hear  the  rush  of  modern  civilization.  It  gives  us  also  the  human 
side  of  the  picture — the  struggles  of  the  frontiersman  and  his  family,  the 
dismay  and  cruel  wrath  of  the  retreating  savage,  the  heroism  ot  the  ad- 
vance guard  of  the  railway  builders,  and  the  cutthroat  struggles  ot  com- 
peting lines.  He  does  not  deal  greatly  with  statistics,  but  the  figures  he 
uses  help  make  up  the  stunning  effect  of  gigantic  enterprise.  There  is 
not  a  dull  page  in  the  book. " — New  York  Evening  Post. 

Cbe  Story  of  tbe  Cowboy. 

By  E.  HOUGH.     Illustrated  by  William  L.  Wells  and  C. 
M.  Russell. 

'•  Nothing  fresher  or  finer  has  been  written  in  many  a  day.  .  .  .  An 
admirable  work."  —Chicago  Evening  Post. 

Cbe  Story  of  tbe  mine. 

Illustrated  by  the  Great  Comstock  Lode  of  Nevada.     By 
CHARLES  HOWARD  SHINN. 

"  The  author  has  written  a  book  not  alone  full  of  information,  but  re- 
plete with  the  true  romance  of  the  American  mine." — New  York  'Jitnes. 

Cbe  Story  of  tbe  Indian. 

By  GEORGE  BIRD   GRINNELL,   author  of  "  Pawnee  Hero 

Stories,"  "  Blackfoot  Lodge  Tales,"  etc. 

"  In  every  way  worthy  of  an  author  who  as  an  authority  upon  the 
Western  Indians  is  second  to  none.  A  book  full  of  color,  abounding  in 
observation,  and  remarkable  in  sustained  interest,  it  is  at  the  same  time 
characterized  by  a  grace  of  style  which  is  rarely  to  be  looked  for  in  such 
a  work,  and  which  adds  not  a  little  to  the  charm  of  it."— London  Daily 
Chronicle. 

Cbe  Story  of  tbe  Soldier. 

By  Brevet  Brigadier-General  GEORGE  A.  FORSYTH,  U.S.A. 
(retired).     Illustrated  by  R.  F.  Zogbaum. 

IN  PREPARATION. 

The  Story  of  the  Trapper.    By  GILBERT  PARKER. 
The  Story  of  the  Explorer.    By  RIPLKY  HITCHCOCK. 


D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


'  "/"OO  9  A,  (4  » 

•*— T      yo»« 


Surrender  of  American  Horse. 


(See  page  339.) 


THE    STORY 
OF   THE   SOLDIER 


BY 


BREVET  BRIGADIER-GENERAL  GEORGE  A.  FORSYTH, 
U.  S.  A.  (RETIRED) 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  R.  F.  ZOGBAUM 


The  regular  in  1861 


NEW  YORK 

D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 
1900 


COPYRIGHT,  1900, 
BY  D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY. 


EDITOR'S  PEEFACE. 


OP  the  actors  in  the  heroic  age  of  our  West,  the 
figure  of  the  soldier  may  he  emphasized,  I  think,  as 
representing  not  simply  fortitude  and  heroism,  since 
these  have  been  the  commonplaces  of  his  life,  nor 
glory,  since  this  has  been  practically  denied  him  by 
his  fellow-citizens;  but  as  the  man  embodying  better 
than  any  other  pioneer  type  the  conserving  influence 
of  law  and  order  and  the  actual  progress  earned  in 
the  early  days  by  the  forces  which  make  for  civiliza- 
tion. The  popular  tradition  of  the  soldier  as  a  con- 
queror of  "  glory-crowned  heights "  has  nothing  in 
common  with  the  unrecognised  career  of  the  American 
regular  soldier  in  the  West.  Coronado  and  other  Span- 
ish warriors  who  marched  northward  seeking  gold  and 
sovereignty  might  well  be  termed  conquistador es,  with 
all  the  glory  which  attaches  to  the  phrase.  The  career 
of  the  American  regular  soldier  may  almost  be  sum- 
marized as  that  of  the  settler's  advance  guard.  Pass- 
ing over  for  a  moment  the  inception  of  his  work  and 


vi  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  character  of  his  services  in  the  eastern  half  of  our 
country,  there  is  a  peculiar  fitness  in  emphasizing  the 
classical  Lewis  and  Clarke  expedition  of  1803-'06. 
Here  were  two  officers  of  the  regular  army  with  a  hand- 
ful of  men  penetrating  an  unknown  empire,  not  in 
search  of  gold  or  military  laurels,  but  simply  to  gather 
for  a  civil  government  geographical  and  scientific  in- 
formation which  would  be  of  value  to  its  citizens.  This 
is  the  simple  story  of  a  large,  perhaps  the  largest  part 
of  the  soldier's  work  in  the  West.  Buried  in  weighty 
volumes  containing  reports  of  reconnoissances  and  sur- 
veys made  in  behalf  of  the  transcontinental  railroads 
are  stories  of  the  soldier's  work  in  the  West  which 
would  offer  to  his  fellow-citizen,  the  civilian,  an  un- 
known page  of  history. 

It  has  all  been  in  the  day's  work,  the  moil  and 
toil  of  the  regular's  frontier  life,  whether  this  has  con- 
sisted of  exploration,  the  protection  of  surveying  par- 
ties, the  guardianship  of  wagon  trains,  the  building 
of  forts  and  maintenance  of  garrisons  in  remote  wilds, 
the  rescue  of  endangered  settlers,  or  a  defence  or  a 
punitive  expedition  against  a  larger  force  of  maraud- 
ing savages  in  the  icy  blizzards  of  the  North  or  on  the 
sun-scorched  plains  of  the  South-land.  The  orders 
have  come  from  the  authorities  at  Washington,  and 
have  passed  onward  and  downward  through  depart- 
ment commanders  to  be  unflinchingly  executed  by 
those  whom  they  reached,  whatever  this  execution 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE.  vii 

might  cost  in  life  or  hardship,  or  in  the  jangling  criti- 
cism of  local  politicians  or  distant  sentimentalists. 
The  frontier  work  of  the  English  soldier,  whatever  its 
penalties  may  be,  has  brought  prompt  promotions,  the 
Victoria  cross,  recognition  and  honours  in  varied  forms. 
The  frontier  work  of  the  American  soldier  with  his 
record  of  over  a  century  of  heroism  and  sacrifice,  has 
been  viewed  with  suspicion  and  prejudice,  and  its  re- 
ward has  been  simply  the  consciousness  of  duty  done. 
Certain  reasons  for  the  injustice  which  has  been  done 
the  American  regular  soldier  are  indicated  by  General 
Forsyth  in  his  sketch  of  the  inception  and  the  earlier 
work  of  the  soldier,  which  furnishes  a  perspective  and 
also  a  background,  and  renders  this  volume  practically 
a  concise  history  of  the  regular  army  of  the  United 
States. 

Of  such  a  book,  our  public,  always  generous  and 
fair-minded,  if  given  an  adequate  knowledge  of  the 
facts,  has  been  grievously  in  need.  For  the  time  be- 
ing the  regular  soldier,  'whether  he  is  protecting  a 
frontier  settlement  or  doing  his  work  at  San  Juan  or 
El  Caney,  may  be  lost  sight  of  in  the  flush  of  enthu- 
siasm over  a  citizen  soldiery,  but  a  calmer,  more  dis- 
criminating judgment  shows  that  training  and  disci- 
pline count  in  war  as  elsewhere,  and  the  man  who 
knows  his  trade  is  more  effective  than  the  novice.  It 
is  a  truism  so  obvious  that  it  is  soon  lost  sight  of,  but 
we  saw  it  illustrated  in  the  civil  war  by  the  training 


Vlll 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 


which  developed  armies  of  men  practically  regulars  in 
the  four  years  between  Bull  Eun  and  Appomattox, 
and  again  in  the  Philippines,  where  training  and 
experience  moulded  the  splendid  material  of  which 
the  first  army  of  volunteers  was  composed  into  a  sea- 
soned and  effective  military  instrument.  It  seems  an 
absurdity  to  argue  for  training,  discipline,  and  ex- 
pert knowledge,  and  yet  an  inherited  prejudice  has 
led  many  of  us  to  forget  that  the  regular  is  simply 
the  average  American  citizen  plus  a  training  which 
makes  him  an  effective  servant  of  a  popular  govern- 
ment.* 

Since  the  regular  is  so  little  known  and  so  often 
misconstrued,  the  author  of  this  book  has  acted  wisely 
in  tracing  his  history  from  the  beginning  of  our  Gov- 

*  The  adjutant  general's  office  has  furnished  the  following 
table,  showing  the  strength  of  the  regular  army  and  the  percent- 
age relations  of  the  army  to  the  population  for  each  decade  from 
1790  to  1900 : 

Strength  of  the  Army. 


YEAR. 

Officers. 

Men. 

Total. 

Population  of 
United  States. 

Per  cent. 

1790. 

57 

1,210 

1,273 

3,929,214 

3-100  of  1 

1800. 

318 

4,118 

4,436 

5,308,483 

8-100  of  1 

1810. 

774 

9,147 

9,921 

7,239,881 

14-100  of  1 

1820. 

712 

8,230 

8,292 

9,633,822 

9-100  of  1 

1830. 

627 

5,324 

5,951 

12.866.020 

5-100  of  1 

1840. 

733 

9,837 

10,570 

17,069,453 

6-100  of  1 

1850. 

948 

9,815 

10.763 

23,191,876 

5-100  of  1 

18(50. 

1,108 

15,259 

16,367 

31.443.321 

5-100  of  1 

1870. 

2,541 

34,534 

37,075 

38,558.371 

10-100  of  1 

1880. 

2,152 

24,357 

26,509 

50,155,783 

5-100  of  1 

1890. 

2,168 

24,921 

27,089 

62.622,250 

4-100  of  1 

1900. 

2,500 

65,000 

67,500 

75,000,000 

9-100  of  1 

EDITOR'S  PREFACE.  ix 

eminent.  This  history  in  its  succinct  form  possesses 
a  peculiar  value  as  a  whole,  and  the  large  portion  of 
the  narrative  which  is  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  sol- 
dier in  the  West,  in  accordance  with  the  plan  of  this 
series,  offers  glimpses  of  endurance,  of  heroism,  and 
romantic  daring  whose  epic  quality  leads  us  to  wonder 
why  the  American  regular  has  had  no  Kipling  to  sing 
his  deeds,  and  why  we,  citizens  of  no  mean  country, 
have  lent  an  ear  to  tales  of  alien  victories  over  Zulus, 
or  Afridis,  or  dervishes,  while  we  have  been  deaf  to 
the  deeds  of  American  regulars,  often  more  perilous 
and  more  daring,  yet  almost  unnoticed  and  practically 
unrewarded. 

Within  two  years  we  have  lost  a  group  of  regu- 
lar officers  whose  long  careers  would  illuminate  the 
pages  of  any  military  history.  Lawton,  whose  forty 
years  of  active  service  included  the  eventful  days  of 
the  civil  war,  a  long  experience  of  every  form  of  serv- 
ice on  the  old  frontier,  and  the  chief  campaign  of 
the  Spanish  war,  has  fallen  with  his  face  to  the  enemy 
in  the  Philippines.  Henry,  that  gallant  cavalryman 
whose  terrible  wounds  are  a  part  of  the  story  of  the 
soldier  in  the  West,  has  passed  away  with  Egbert,  and 
with  Liscum  and  Eeilly,  who  have  crowned  their  long 
and  faithful  service  with  the  offer  of  their  lives  in  dis- 
tant China.  Other  survivors  of  the  civil  war  and  of 
the  race  of  Indian  fighters  have  gone  before,  like 

Crook,  whose  record  of  fearless  justice  and  unswerving 
1* 


x  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

truthfulness  suggests  the  difference  which  might  have 
been  had  officers  of  the  regular  army  been  intrusted 
with  the  management  of  our  Indian  wars. 

The  soldiers  of  the  epic  age  of  our  West  are  rapidly 
passing  away,  and  it  is  full  time  that  their  story  should 
be  told.  It  is  a  tale  of  thrilling  interest,  a  moving  and 
brilliant  chapter  of  a  history  too  little  known,  and  it 
is  set  forth  in  the  graphic  pages  of  this  volume  by  a 
regular  soldier  who  has  earned  the  right  to  speak  by 
actual  experience,  by  honourable  wounds,  and  by  that 
superb  stand  against  overwhelming  numbers  which  has 
made  the  affair  of  the  Arickaree  famous  in  the  annals 
of  the  soldier  in  the  West. 


AUTHOR'S  PEEFACE. 


To  tell  effectively  the  Story  of  the  Soldier  in  the 
Story  of  the  West  Series,  to  which  it  belongs,  has 
obliged  the  writer  to  outline  practically  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  regular  soldier  of  the  United  States 
army. 

In  his  own  opinion  he  has  only  blazed  the  way  for 
further  research  and  better  literary  results  along  the 
same  line.  Our  regular  is  an  interesting  study  from 
the  fact  that  the  average  representative  of  both  rank 
and  file  is  an  honourable,  fairly  able,  and  upright  man 
and  a  splendid  citizen,  and  at  the  same  time  is  com- 
pletely outside  of,  and  detached  from  all  party  and  po- 
litical affiliations  and  with  almost  no  prospect  of  even- 
tual financial  reward.  He  accepts  the  badge  of  "  serv- 
ice "  in  a  spirit  that  makes  it  a  mark  of  distinction,  and 
does  his  whole  duty  at  all  times  and  under  all  circum- 
stances unhesitatingly  and  without  complaint,  and  the 
experience  of  this  last  one  hundred  and  twenty  years 
has  shown  the  General  Government  that  the  regular 

xi 


xii  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

army  of  the  United  States  is  under  any  and  all  cir- 
cumstances to  be  absolutely  depended  upon.* 

Within  the  limits  of  this  book  it  has  not  been 
possible  to  go  into  any  extended  detail  of  the  work 
of  the  regular,  or  of  his  merits  as  a  soldier  and  a  man, 
but  if  the  reader  succeeds  in  obtaining  a  fairly  correct 
idea  of  the  soldier  of  the  United  States  army  as  he 
actually  is  the  writer  will  be  satisfied.  He  desires  also 
to  record  here  his  thanks  and  obligations  to  the  writers 
of  certain  manuscript  furnished  him  by  the  editor  of 
this  series  of  books,  Mr.  Eipley  Hitchcock,  by  whom  he 
was  authorized  to  use  it  as  he  saw  fit,  and  parts  of 
which  he  has,  with  certain  emendations  and  alterations, 
incorporated  in  this  volume. 

G.  A.  F. 

WASHINGTON,  September,  1900. 

*  In,  our  civil  war  the  enlisted  men  of  the  army  almost  with- 
out exception  stood  by  the  Government.  Instances  of  desertion 
and  disaffection  were  so  rare  that  probably  one  half  of  one  per 
cent  of  the  forces  would  much  more  than  cover  them  all.  To 
the  credit  of  the  Southern  officers  of  the  army  who  resigned 
upon  the  secession  of  their  several  States  and  afterward  entered 
the  Confederate  service,  so  far  as  is  known,  no  one  of  them 
attempted  to  induce  the  enlisted  men  to  take  service  against  the 
United  States. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I. — THE  INCEPTION  OF  THE  ARMY 1 

II. — HOW  AND  WHY  THE    REGULAR   ARMY    OF    THE   UNITED 

STATES  CAME  INTO  BEING  AND  THE  SOURCES  FROM 
WHICH  ITS  OFFICERS  ARE  COMMISSIONED   ...      16 

III. — THE  REVOLUTIONARY  FRONTIER — ARMY  EXPLORERS — 

THE  WAR  OF  1812  AND  THE  WAR  WITH  MEXICO     .      38 

IV. — SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRON- 
TIER FROM  1846  TO  1860 58 

V. — CHARACTERISTICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERI- 
CAN SOLDIER — HIS  SURROUNDINGS,  PERQUISITES,  AND 
PAY 82 

VI. — FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW,  AND  THEIR  SOLDIER 

OCCUPANTS .  .      102 

VII. — ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK  ON  THE  ROAD        .    146 
VIII. — THE  INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER  IN 

1866  AND  1867 168 

IX.— THE  Sioux  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868  AND  1869    .        .        .199 
X. — A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  Sioux  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868 

AND  1869 233 

XI. — THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  Sioux  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69  AND 

THE   PUNISHMENT  OF  THE   PlEGANS     ....      249 

XII. — ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE 261 

XIII.— THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON 286 

XIV.— THE  Sioux  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876 308 

XV. — THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  Sioux  CAMPAIGN  AND  THE  NEZ 

PERCES'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT 330 

XVI. — THE  ARMY  OFFICER,  THE  PEOPLE,  AND  THE  SOLDIER   .  363 

INDEX 379 

xiii 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTKATIONS. 


PAGE 

SURRENDER  OP  AMERICAN  HORSE         .        .         Frontispiece 

THE  DEFEAT  OF  ST.  CLAIR — THE  REGULARS  COVERING  THE 

RETREAT 29 

THE  MARCH  OF  COOKE'S  COMMAND 62 

THE  WAGON  TRAIN       .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .147 

THE  ATTACK  ON  BLACK  KETTLE'S  CAMP      .        .        .        .243 

ARRIVAL   OF   TERRY'S   COLUMN   ON   THE   CUSTER   BATTLE- 
FIELD       327 

xv 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   INCEPTION   OF   THE   AKMY. 

BOTH  the  officer  and  the  enlisted  man  of  the  regu- 
lar army  of  the  United  States  of  to-day  are  a  somewhat 
peculiar  and  unique  development,  growing  out  of,  and 
finally  evolved  from  a  condition  of  affairs  that  had  its 
beginning  in  even  the  first  weak  colonies  established 
upon  this  continent  by  the  English  and  Dutch  early  in 
the  seventeenth  century. 

It  is  the  story  of  what  this  soldier  is  and  what  he 
has  accomplished  in  that  portion  of  our  country  west 
of  the  Missouri  River  that  I  purpose  to  tell;  but  in 
order  to  do  so  understandingly  I  must  carry  my  reader 
back  nearly  three  hundred  years,  to  enable  me  to  lead 
up  to  the  reason  why  the  story  of  the  regular  soldier 
in  our  national  annals  is  the  record  of  the  one  citizen 
of  the  republic  comparatively  unknown,  least  appre- 
ciated, persistently  misunderstood,  and,  for  political 
effect,  frequently  misrepresented  and  occasionally  even 
recklessly  maligned  in  our  national  legislative  halls, 
and  yet  whose  record  as  a  citizen,  a  soldier,  and  a  patriot 
has  been,  and  is,  almost  stainless. 

i 


2  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

While  the  majority  of  the  earliest  pioneers  for  North 
American  shores  who  of  their  own  volition  deliberately 
left  England  in  1606  and  Holland  in  1614  to  found 
colonies  and  establish  homes  in  the  New  World  were 
undoubtedly  adventurers,  still  they  had  within  their 
number  certain  strong  men,  both  mentally  and  physic- 
ally, with  fixed  opinions  as  to  religion  and  govern- 
ments, with  also,  it  may  be,  Utopian  ideas  of  what  the 
future  held  in  store  for  them  in  the  virgin  forests  of 
America.  But  outside  of  and  beyond  their  day  dreams 
in  this  direction  they  were  willing  to  brave  the  dangers 
of  the  sea,  endure  the  discomforts  of  the  pioneer,  and 
assume  the  risks  and  hardships  of  frontiersmen  that 
they  and  their  descendants  might  be  a  people  freed 
from  Old  World  traditions,  customs,  and  complications, 
and  not  bound  down  by  antiquated  codes  and  subject 
to  existing  conditions  that  compelled  them  to  obey  the 
behests  of  a  monarchical  or  imperial  government,  which 
might  at  any  time  demand  their  lives  and  property  to 
enable  it  to  take  part  in  a  war  that  practically  had  only 
to  do  with  the  personal  interests  of  the  reigning  sover- 
eign or  his  house,  and  the  outcome  of  which,  whether 
it  was  a  successful  or  disastrous  campaign,  was  of  no 
direct  concern  or  benefit  to  the  nation  collectively  or  to 
the  individual  subject,  but  which  might,  and  frequently 
did  drench  the  land  in  blood,  impoverish  its  inhab- 
itants, and  bring  upon  them  nameless  horrors,  penury, 
and  untold  misery. 

During  the  succeeding  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
after  the  English  and  Dutch  took  root  in  our  soil  a  fit- 
ful, but  nevertheless  a  slowly  increasing  tide  of  emigra- 
tion set  unsteadily  in  from  England  and  Holland,  bear- 
ing upon  its  bosom  to  our  shores  an  ever-widening 


THE  INCEPTION  OF  THE  ARMY.  3 

stream  of  strong,  active,  and  determined  men,  whose 
bitter  experience  had  taught  them  to  dread  the  misuse 
of  standing  armies  and  to  abhor  the  brutal  excesses  of 
a  hireling  soldiery. 

And  well  it  might  do  so;  for  from  1607,  when  the 
English  planted  their  first  colony  at  Jamestown,  to  1765, 
when  the  British  Parliament  by  passing  the  Stamp  Act 
deliberately  alienated  their  American  colonies,  history 
gives  us  an  account  of  ninety-seven  different  wars, 
sieges,  and  massacres  with  all  their  attendant  horrors 
between  and  among  the  various  European  and  Asiatic 
powers,  in  less  than  in  one  tenth  of  which  national 
wars  were  the  inhabitants  of  the  various  countries 
so  devastated  at  all  vitally  interested,  and  which  wars 
had  been  waged  either  to  strengthen  or  perpetuate 
certain  dynasties,  to  aggrandize  various  religious  sects, 
or  else  solely  to  pander  to  the  conscienceless  ambition 
of  individual  religious,  political,  or  military  leaders 
thirsting  for  fame,  place,  and  power. 

To  the  American  colonist,  who  during  this  century 
and  a  half  of  gradual  growth  and  hard-working  pros- 
perity had  developed  an  individuality  of  sturdy  inde- 
pendence solely  upon  and  along  lines  of  business  and 
personal  interests,  with  only  a  comparatively  slight 
trend  toward  the  necessity  of  his  need  for  the  existence 
of  any  general  government  whatever,  and  who  knew 
from  history,  tradition,  and  the  personal  narratives  of 
his  ancestors,  many  of  whom  in  their  own  individual 
experience  had  known  the  wretched  conditions  imposed 
upon  even  the  noncombatants  in  these  Europeans  wars, 
the  idea  of  a  dissolute  and  paid  soldiery,  that  might  be, 
and  frequently  had  been  sold  and  bought  by  different 
monarchs  and  used  in  their  family  interests  against 


4  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

even  their  own  people,  was  simply  abhorrent,  and  finally 
the  occupation  of  Boston  by  a  brigade  of  British  regu- 
lars, of  whom  history  says  "  they  led  brawling,  riotous 
lives  and  made  the  quiet  streets  hideous  by  night  with 
their  drunken  shouts,  while  scores  of  loose  women  who 
had  followed  the  regiment  across  the  ocean  came  to 
scandalize  the  town/'  was  to  the  Puritan  New  Eng- 
lander  almost  unbearable.  Moreover,  the  British  regu- 
lar was  in  bad  repute  among  the  colonists  long  be- 
fore the  arrival  in  Boston  of  General  Gage's  troops, 
for  in  1755,  shortly  before  the  disastrous  expedition 
against  Fort  Duquesne  under  General  Braddock  was 
about  to  enter  the  wilderness,  Benjamin  Franklin  ven- 
tured to  warn  General  Braddock  as  to  the  great  danger 
his  command  might  be  subjected  to  by  the  Indian 
method  of  fighting,  especially  as  regarded  ambuscades, 
and  (I  quote  from  Franklin's  account  of  the  interview) 
"  General  Braddock  scouted  the  idea  of  any  possibility 
of  defeat.  He  (Braddock)  smiled  at  my  ignorance  and 
replied:  '  These  savages  may  be  a  formidable  enemy 
to  your  raw  militia,  but  upon  the  King's  regular  and 
disciplined  troops,  sir,  it  is  impossible  that  they  should 
make  any  impression.' '''  Franklin  then  proceeds  to  give 
some  account  of  the  manner  in  which  the  regulars  were 
entrapped  and  shot  down  by  the  French  and  Indians, 
and  ends  by  saying:  "  The  general  (Braddock),  being 
wounded,  was  brought  off  with  difficulty;  his  secretary, 
Mr.  Shirley,  was  killed  by  his  side;  and  out  of  eighty-six 
officers,  sixty-three  were  killed  or  wounded,  and  seven 
hundred  and  fourteen  men  killed  out  of  eleven  hun- 
dred. These  eleven  hundred  had  been  picked  men  from 
the  whole  army;  the  rest  had  been  left  behind  with 
Colonel  Dunbar,  who  was  to  follow  with  the  heavier 


THE  INCEPTION  OF  THE  ARMY.  5 

part  of  the  stores,  provisions,  and  baggage.  The  flyers, 
being  pursued,  arrived  at  Dunbar's  camp,  and  the  panic 
they  brought  with  them  instantly  seized  him  and  all 
his  people;  and,  though  he  had  now  above  one  thousand 
men  and  the  enemy  who  had  beaten  Braddock  did  not 
at  most  exceed  four  hundred  Indians  and  French  to- 
gether, instead  of  proceeding  and  endeavouring  to  re- 
cover some  of  the  lost  honour,  he  ordered  all  the  stores 
and  ammunition  to  be  destroyed,  that  he  might  have 
more  horses  to  assist  his  flight  toward  the  settlements. 
He  was  there  met  with  requests  from  the  governors  of 
Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Pennsylvania  that  he  would 
post  his  troops  on  the  frontier,  so  as  to  afford  some  pro- 
tection to  the  inhabitants,  but  he  continued  his  hasty 
march  through  all  the  country,  not  thinking  himself 
safe  till  he  arrived  at  Philadelphia,  where  the  inhab- 
itants could  protect  him.  This  whole  transaction  gave 
us  Americans  the  first  suspicion  that  our  exalted  ideas 
of  the  prowess  of  British  regulars  had  not  been  well 
founded." 

When  his  British  Majesty's  (George  III)  regulars 
fired  upon  the  unarmed  citizens  of  Boston  on  the  5th 
of  March,  1770,  the  culminating  point  of  detestation  for 
regulars  by  the  colonists  was  already  attained,  and  the 
stirring  oration  of  Dr.  Joseph  Warren,  spoken  at  a 
memorial  meeting  of  the  fellow-townsmen  of  the  dead 
victims  of  misrule  (held  on  the  first  anniversary  of  the 
occurrence  in  the  Old  South  Church  of  Boston),  on 
•'the  baleful  influence  of  standing  armies  in  time  of 
peace,"  was  not  needed  to  accentuate  a  prejudice  against 
the  regular  soldier  that  was  already  so  deeply  engraved 
on  the  public  heart  that  to-day,  after  more  than  a 
century  of  almost  unparalleled  gallantry  in  the  field 


6  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  a  steady  and  unwavering  devotion  to  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  people  and  the  republic,  such  as  has  never 
been  surpassed,  if  equalled,  by  any  body  of  regular 
troops  in  the  history  of  the  world,  the  regular  army  of 
the  United  States  is  still  regarded  as  an  object  of  sus- 
picion and  mistrust  by  very  many  of  our  best  citizens. 
It  is  in  the  hope  of  in  some  degree  disabusing  the 
public  mind  of  this  inherited  prejudice,  and  to  give  it 
a  true  idea  of,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  perhaps  the  most  de- 
voted patriot  and  the  best  and  most  obedient  citizen  of 
the  republic,  that  I  have  undertaken  to  tell  the  story 
of  the  regular  soldier  in  the  West. 

To  do  this  intelligently,  however,  and  to  enable  the 
reader  to  thoroughly  grasp  the  underlying  sentiment 
that  controls  the  personnel  of  the  regular  army  as  a 
whole,  both  officers  and  men,  it  will  be  necessary  that 
I  briefly  outline  the  conditions  that  led  up  to  the  crea- 
tion and  organization  of  the  United  States  army  and 
its  permanent  establishment  against,  and  despite  of  the 
pronounced  ideas  of  some  of  the  leading  and  ablest  of 
the  early  statesmen  of  our  country.  I  intend  therefore 
briefly  to  mention  the  work  of  the  regular  army  on 
the  frontier  during  the  years  immediately  succeeding 
the  Revolutionary  War  as  well  as  in  the  War  of  1812 
and  the  Mexican  War.  Furthermore,  I  shall  touch  also 
on  its  heavy  percentage  of  loss  in  our  civil  war,  to- 
gether with  a  somewhat  detailed  account  of  its  work  on 
the  Pacific  slope,  in  the  far  Southwest,  and  on  the  great 
plains  beyond  the  Mississippi  on  our  northern  and  west- 
ern borders,  which  in  the  interests  of  a  better  civiliza- 
tion it  finally  wrested  from  the  control  of  the  various 
savage  Indian  tribes  who  held  it  most  tenaciously,  even 
desperately,  against  the  rising  tide  of  Anglo-Saxon 


THE  INCEPTION  OP  THE  ARMY.  7 

occupation    almost   to    the    close    of   the    nineteenth 
century. 

Five  years  after  the  Boston  massacre,  where  King 
George's  regulars  had  fired  upon  the  unarmed  citizens 
of  Boston,  these  same  troops  tried  it  again  upon  the 
colonists  at  Lexington;  but  long  before  sunset  of  April 
19,  1775,  they  had  learned  that  it  was  one  thing  to  fire 
upon  an  unarmed  body  of  citizens,  but  decidedly  an- 
other thing  to  fire  upon  the  armed  minute  men  of 
Massachusetts.  In  the  veins  of  these  men  ran  the  same 
blood  that  had  enabled  the  dauntless  barons  of  England 
to  face  royalty  and  wring  the  Magna  Charta  from  King 
John  at  Eunnymede,  and  that  day  they  proved  them- 
selves gallant  sons  of  worthy  sires,  for  the  whole  coun- 
try side  rose  together  in  defence  of  their  rights,  and 
every  man  who  owned  a  firearm  hurried  to  the  fray. 
Their  daily  life  had  made  them  good  rifle  shots,  but 
they  had  little  knowledge  of  discipline  or  drill — hardly 
a  military  organization  worthy  of  the  name;  were  prac- 
tically without  leaders,  and  had  scarcely  more  than  the 
cohesion  that  mutual  danger  and  self-defence  grants 
to  desperate  and  determined  men;  but  all  day  long  they 
assailed  and  attacked  the  British  column  from  every 
available  point.  It  was  a  motley  band,  this  partially 
organized  crowd  of  "  minute  men."  Men  of  all  ages, 
creeds,  professions,  and  trades  —  lawyers,  doctors, 
farmers,  tradesmen,  mechanics,  high  and  low,  rich 
and  poor,  the  gray-haired  grandsire,  the  stalwart 
father,  and  the  beardless  son — all  were  there,  and  none 
of  them  faltered  nor  failed.  Neither  was  it  any  holi- 
day work  that  they  had  to  do,  for  the  record  shows  that 
King  George's  soldiers  were  well  handled  and  finely 
disciplined,  and  fought  bravely  and  gallantly,  but  from 


8  THE  STOKY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

behind  every  fence  and  tree,  bush,  stump,  hillock,  and 
wayside  rock  the  minute  men  poured  in  a  deadly  fire 
on  the  retreating  regulars,  who,  to  their  credit  be  it 
said,  held  well  together  and  were  at  length  succoured  in 
their  dire  extremity  by  a  force  sent  out  from  Boston 
to  meet  them,  and  which  arrived  none  too  soon  to  save 
the  whole  column  from  annihilation  or  capture  at  the 
hands  of  the  exasperated  colonists.  That  day's  work 
made  possible  the  federation  of  the  colonies,  opened  the 
way  for  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  fore- 
shadowed the  birth  of  the  republic.  These  minute  men 
were  volunteers.  They  had  gallantly  attacked,  bravely 
repulsed,  and  persistently  followed  up  the  British  regu- 
lars, and  from  that  day  at  Lexington  until  to-day,  as 
in  the  old  colonial  days,  the  volunteer  is,  and  always 
has  been,  the  idol  of  the  people. 

And  yet? 

The  uprising  of  the  Massachusetts  minute  men  at 
Concord  was  almost  immediately  followed  by  the  in- 
vestment and  siege  of  the  British  troops  in  Boston  by 
the  militia  of  the  North  American  colonies  under  the 
command  of  various  colonial  general  officers,  who  for 
the  time  being  acknowledged  the  authority  of  Major- 
General  Artemas  Ward,  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts 
Bay.  But  the  time  had  come  when  there  must  be  a 
supreme  head  of  this  hastily  organized  colonial  militia, 
and  in  the  Journals  of  (the  Continental)  Congress  of 
June  15,  1775,  I  find  the  following: 

"  Resolved,  That  a  general  be  appointed  to  command 
all  the  Continental  forces  raised  or  to  be  raised  for  the 
defence  of  American  liberty.  That  five  hundred  dollars 
per  month  be  allowed  for  the  pay  and  expenses  of  the 
general.  The  Congress  then  proceeded  to  the  choice 


THE  INCEPTION  OF  THE  ARMY.  9 

of  a  general  by  ballot,  and  George  Washington,  Esq., 
was  unanimously  elected.  Adjourned  till  to-morrow  at 
eight  o-clock." 

They  could  well  afford  to  adjourn  after  that  piece 
of  work.  They  never  surpassed  it  but  once  in  the  whole 
history  of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  that  was  a 
little  more  than  a  year  later,  on  July  4,  1776. 

Of  all  men  in  North  America,  George  Wash- 
ington was  without  exception  the  ablest  soldier  in  the 
colonies,  and  by  temperament,  physical  and  mental 
vigour,  methodical  habits,  experience  in  organizing  vol- 
unteers and  militia  and  field  service  on  the  frontier 
not  only  the  one  best  fitted  to  cope  with  the  responsi- 
bilities thrust  upon  him  by  his  new  command,  but 
probably  the  only  man  then  living  who  could  have 
conducted  the  Revolutionary  War  to  a  successful  termi- 
nation. 

A  frontier  surveyor  at  eighteen,  adjutant  general 
of  one  of  the  frontier  districts  of  the  colony  of  Vir- 
ginia with  the  rank  of  major  at  nineteen,  lieutenant 
colonel  of  the  Virginia  troops  in  the  war  with  the 
French  in  1754  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  and  aide-de- 
camp to  General  Braddock  in  the  disastrous  campaign 
of  1755,  he  was  almost  the  only  prominent  officer  who 
came  out  of  that  blundering  and  bloody  repulse  with 
credit  to  himself,  honour  to  his  colony,  and  with  an  un- 
impaired reputation  as  an  able  and  brilliant  officer  and 
a  capable  soldier.  Appointed  by  the  legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia commander  in  chief  of  all  the  forces  of  the  colony 
in  1755,  he  devoted  three  years  of  his  life  to  recruiting, 
organizing,  drilling,  and  equipping  troops  for  its  defence, 
and  in  1758  he  led  them  against  the  French  and  In- 
dians in  a  most  successful  campaign  along  the  north- 


10  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

western  frontier.  Resigning  from  the  army  on  the  con- 
clusion of  peace,  he  married,  and  then  for  sixteen  years 
led  an  almost  ideal  life  as  a  country  gentleman  on  his 
estate  at  Mount  Vernon,  Virginia,  being  both  a  local 
magistrate  and  much  of  the  time  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Burgesses  of  Virginia.  Commissioned  by  the 
Continental  Congress,  General  George  Washington  thus 
became  practically  the  first  regularly  commissioned  offi- 
cer appointed  over  the  troops  of  this  country;  in  fact, 
he  was  the  first  "  regular  "  in  our  service,  and,  in  the 
light  of  history,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the 
regular  army  of  the  United  States  had  its  first  incep- 
tion in  his  mind,  and  that  it  was  owing  to  his  wise 
counsels,  earnest  recommendations,  and  persistent  ur- 
ging that  Congress  eventually  consented  to  the  creation 
of  an  army  that  in  its  organization  represented  the 
nation  and  was  controlled  only  by  the  President,  acting 
within  certain  well-defined  constitutional  limitations. 
On  his  assumption  of  command  at  Boston  in  1775  he 
found  a  herculean  task  awaiting  him  in  organizing, 
drilling,  and  properly  disciplining  the  colonial  militia, 
and  I  think  it  best  to  give  a  few  extracts  from  his  letters 
to  let  the  reader  see  how  very  like  his  experience  with 
both  militia  and  volunteers  was  to  that  of  our  own  day. 

Washington  to  Colonel  William  Woodford,  Cambridge, 
November  10,  1775. 

"  The  best  general  advice  I  can  give  is  to  be  strict 
in  your  discipline;  that  is,  to  require  nothing  unreason- 
able of  your  officers  and  men,  but  see  that  whatever 
is  required  be  punctually  complied  with.  Reward  and 
punish  every  man  according  to  his  merit  without  par- 
tiality or  prejudice;  hear  his  complaints;  if  well 
founded,  redress  them;  if  otherwise,  discourage  them  in 


THE  INCEPTION  OF  THE  ARMY.  H 

order  to  prevent  frivolous  ones.     Discourage  vice  in 
every  shape." 

Washington  to  the  President  of  the  Continental  Congress,  dated 
Cambridge,  February  9,  1776. 

"To  expect,  then,  the  same  service  from  raw  and 
undisciplined  recruits  as  from  veteran  soldiers  is  to  ex- 
pect what  never  did,  and  perhaps  never  will  happen. 
Men  who  are  familiarized  with  danger  meet  it  with- 
out shrinking;  whereas  troops  unused  to  service  often 
apprehend  danger  where  no  danger  is." 

Washington  to  Richard  Henry  Lee,  dated  Camp  at  Cambridge, 
August  29,  1775. 

"  But  it  is  among  the  most  difficult  tasks  I  ever 
undertook  in  my  life  to  induce  these  people  to  believe 
that  there  is,  or  can  be,  danger  till  the  bayonet  is 
pushed  at  their  breasts;  not  that  it  proceeds  from  any 
uncommon  prowess,  but  rather  from  an  unaccountable 
stupidity  in  the  lower  class  of  these  people,  which,  be- 
lieve me,  prevails  but  too  generally  among  the  officers 
of  the  Massachusetts  part  of  the  army,  who  are  nearly 
of  the  same  kidney  with  the  privates,  and  adds  not  a 
little  to  my  difficulties,  as  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
getting  of  officers  of  this  stamp  to  exert  themselves 
in  carrying  orders  into  execution  (to  curry  favour  with 
the  men  by  whom  they  were  chosen  and  on  whose 
smiles  possibly  they  may  think  they  may  again  rely 
seems  to  be  one  of  the  principal  objects  of  their  atten- 
tion)." 

Washington  to  the  President  of  Congress,  dated  Colonel  Morris's, 
on  the  Heights  of  Haerlem,  September  24,  1776.    Extract. 

"When  men  are  irritated  and  their  passions  in- 
flamed they  fly  hastily  and  cheerfully  to  arms;  but 
after  the  first  emotions  are  over,  to  expect  among  such 


12  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

people  as  compose  the  bulk  of  an  army  that  they  are 
influenced  by  any  other  principles  than  those  of  interest 
is  to  look  for  what  never  did,  and  I  fear  what  never 
will  happen.  ...  It  becomes  evident  to  me,  then,  that, 
as  this  contest  is  not  likely  to  be  the  work  of  a  day,  as 
the  war  must  be  carried  on  systematically,  and  to  do  it 
you  must  have  good  officers,  there  are,  in  my  judgment, 
no  other  possible  means  to  obtain  them  but  by  estab- 
lishing your  army  upon  a  permanent  footing  and  giv- 
ing your  officers  good  pay.  .  .  .  They  ought  to  have 
such  allowances  as  will  enable  them  to  live  and  support 
the  character  of  gentlemen.  .  .  .  Something  is  due  to 
the  man  who  puts  his  life  in  your  hands,  hazards  his 
health,  and  forsakes  the  sweets  of  domestic  enjoyments. 
.  .  .  With  respect  to  the  men,  nothing  but  a  good 
bounty  can  obtain  them  upon  a  permanent  establish- 
ment. ...  To  place  dependence  upon  militia  is  as- 
suredly resting  upon  a  broken  staff.  Unaccustomed 
to  the  din  of  arms,  totally  unacquainted  with  every 
kind  of  military  skill,  which  being  followed  by  want 
of  confidence  in  themselves  when  opposed  to  troops 
regularly  trained,  disciplined,  and  appointed,  superior 
in  knowledge  and  superior  in  arms,  makes  them  timid 
and  ready  to  fly  from  their  own  shadows.  .  .  .  To 
bring  men  to  a  proper  degree  of  subordination  is  not 
the  work  of  a  day,  a  month,  or  even  a  year.  .  .  .  The 
jealousy  of  a  standing  army  and  the  evils  to  be  appre- 
hended from  one  are  remQte,  and,  in  my  judgment, 
situated  and  circumstanced  as  we  are,  not  at  all  to  be 
dreaded." 

Letter  written  to  Mr.  Bannister,  dated  Valley  Forge, 
April  21,  1778. 

"  Men  may  speculate  as  they  will;  they  may  talk  of 
patriotism;  they  may  draw  a  few  examples  from  an- 
cient story  of  great  achievements  performed  by  its  in- 


THE  INCEPTION  OF  THE  ARMY.  13 

fluence;  but  whoever  builds  upon  them  as  a  sufficient 
basis  for  conducting  a  long  and  bloody  war  will  find 
himself  deceived  in  the  end.  We  must  take  the  passions 
of  men  as  Nature  has  given  them,  and  those  principles 
as  a  guide  which  are  generally  the  rule  of  action.  I 
do  not  mean  to  exclude  altogether  the  idea  of  patriot- 
ism. I  know  it  exists,  and  I  know  it  has  done  much  in 
the  present  contest;  but  I  will  venture  to  assert  that 
a  great  and  lasting  war  can  never  be  supported  on  this 
principle  alone.  It  must  be  aided  by  some  prospect  of 
interest  or  some  reward.  For  a  time  it  may  of  itself 
push  men  to  action,  to  bear  much,  to  encounter  diffi- 
culties, but  it  will  not  endure  unassisted  by  interest."  . 

Before  the  war  of  the  Eevolution  was  well  into  its 
second  year  the  necessity  for  educated  and  properly 
drilled  and  disciplined  military  officers  became  so  ap- 
parent that,  on  the  20th  of  September,  1776,  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  appointed  a  committee  from  among 
its  members  to  visit  army  headquarters,  then  near  the 
city  of  New  York,  to  confer  with  the  general  officers 
of  the  colonial  forces  regarding  some  way  by  which 
such  a  corps  of  officers  could  be  had.  In  their  report 
to  the  Congress  the  committee  state  that:  "  Some  of 
the  troops  were  badly  officered.  .  .  .  The  articles  of 
war  and  general  orders  were  frequently  transgressed. 
.  .  .  Some  officers,  instead  of  suppressing  disorderly 
behaviour,  encouraged  the  soldiers  by  their  examples 
to  plunder  and  commit  other  offences,  or  endeavoured 
to  screen  them  from  just  punishment  by  partial  trials." 
Congress  therefore  "  Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  War 
be  directed  to  prepare  a  Continental  Laboratory  and 
a  Military  Academy  and  provide  the  same  with  proper 
officers,"  and  on  October  1,  1776,  it  was  further  "Re- 


14  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

solved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  bring 
in  a  plan  of  '  A  Military  Academy  at  the  Army/ '"'  And 
such  a  committee  was  duly  appointed;  but  so  great  was 
the  stress  of  events  that  no  action  was  taken  by  the 
committee,  and  the  colonial  forces  had  only  the  prac- 
tical school  of  war  in  which  to  educate  their  officers — 
a  fearfully  bitter  and  expensive  school,  involving  a 
great  unnecessary  and  lamentable  loss  of  human  life 
and  a  vast  and  unnecessary  waste  of  Government  treas- 
ure. It  is  an  established  fact  in  our  country  that  offi- 
cers can  be  educated  and  soldiers  developed  in  a  long 
and  bloody  war,  but  it  is  hardly  probable  that  the  in- 
telligent citizens  of  the  United  States  will  be  willing 
to  again  unnecessarily  sacrifice  their  sons  in  this  way. 
It  is  only  when  we  dip  deeply  into  the  personal  corre- 
spondence of  Washington  during  the  disheartening  days 
of  the  American  Kevolution  that  it  is  possible  to  realize 
the  weight  of  the  burden  he  bore  so  brave-heartedly 
and  so  unflinchingly  for  nearly  seven  long,  weary  years. 
Assailed  by  would-be  rivals  both  within  and  without 
the  army,  decried  by  cabals  in  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, criticised  and  sneered  at  by  certain  "unappreci- 
ated" officers,  misjudged  by  some  of  those  whom  he 
looked  upon  as  friends  and  unstintedly  abused  by  his 
enemies,  it  was  nothing  but  his  persistent  and  uncom- 
plaining devotion  to  duty,  his  daily  life  of  rigid  dis- 
cipline, his  capacity  for  hard  and  sustained  work,  his 
attention  to  detail,  his  acknowledged  ability  in  mak- 
ing the  best  use  of  the  troops  under  his  command  and 
always  getting  the  most  out  of  them,  as  well  as  a  certain 
marvellous  military  intuition  that  invariably  led  him 
to  instantly  seize  upon  and  take  advantage  of  every 
error  made  by  the  enemy,  together  with  his  splendid 


THE  INCEPTION  OF  THE  ARMY.  15 

personality  and  his  unswerving  integrity,  that  finally 
enabled  him  to  triumph  over  disaster  and  wring  vic- 
tory from  defeat.*  In  the  power,  plenitude,  and 
strength  of  our  great  republic  we  seem  to  have  forgot- 
ten the  agonizing  birth  throes  that  nearly  drained  the 
best  life  blood  of  the  colonies  that  brought  it  forth, 
and  are  apt  to  overlook  the  fact  that  the  lusty  young 
giant  of  the  New  World  that  to-day  dominates  the  West- 
ern Hemisphere  was  once  the  weakling  of  the  nations. 

NOTE. — The  United  States  army  has  been  increased  and 
diminished  by  act  of  Congress,  as  occasion  seemed  to  warrant 
and  justify,  many  times.  In  1788,  on  a  prospect  of  trouble  with 
France,  it  aggregated  5,000  men,  and  was  then  reduced  to  3,000. 
In  the  war  with  England  in  1812  it  rose  to  nearly  30,000,  and 
then  fell  by  congressional  enactment  to  9,000.  In  the  war  with 
Mexico  it  rose  to  27,000,  and  then  was  gradually  reduced  to 
10,000.  In  the  civil  war  (1861  and  1865)  it  rose  to  32,000,  and  at 
the  close  of  the  war  was  established  on  a  peace  basis  at  55,000  ; 
but  four  years  later  was  again  reduced  by  congressional  enact- 
ment to  27,500,  and  later  to  25,000.  The  war  with  Spain  (1898 
and  1899)  has  increased  it  by  two  regiments  of  artillery.  The 
twenty-five  regiments  of  infantry  have  been  reorganized  as  three 
battalion  regiments.  All  the  regiments  of  cavalry,  artillery,  and 
infantry  have  been  recruited  to  their  maximum,  making  an  aggre- 
gate, including  the  hospital  corps,  of  nearly  66,000  officers  and 
enlisted  men. 

*  During  the  war  of  the  Revolution  the  tremendous  weight 
of  the  individual  personality  of  General  Washington  for  good 
became  so  thoroughly  ingrained  upon  the  officers  of  the  colonial 
forces,  some  of  whom  were  eventually  commissioned  in  the 
United  States  army,  that  on  its  organization  by  some  of  these 
same  officers  Washington's  ideas  became  the  foundation  of  its 
official  and  social  life,  and  remain  so  to  this  day. 


CHAPTER  II. 

HOW  AND  WHY  THE  KEGULAE  ARMY  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES  CAME  INTO  BEING  AND  THE  SOURCES  FROM 
WHICH  ITS  OFFICERS  ARE  COMMISSIONED. 

THE  close  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution  found  the 
colonial  militia  and  the  Continental  troops  anxious  for 
immediate  discharge  from  service,  and  as  the  idea  of  a 
standing  army  was  most  unpopular  with  the  people,  the 
whole  army  was  promptly  disbanded  with  as  little  delay 
as  possible,  and  it  was  found  extremely  difficult  to  re- 
tain enough  men,  even  temporarily,  in  the  Continental 
service  to  garrison  a  few  forts  and  to  care  for  the  arms, 
accoutrements,  and  ammunition  belonging  to  the  sev- 
eral States  as  well  as  the  Continental  Government.  In 
fact,  soldiering  in  time  of  peace  by  an  able-bodied  man 
was  looked  upon  by  the  masses  of  that  day  with  disfa- 
vour, if  not  with  contempt,  and  thought  to  be  slightly 
disgraceful,  and  the  word  "  soldiering "  was  freely  ap- 
plied to  any  body  of  indolent  labourers  who  shirked 
work  and  did  as  little  as  they  possibly  could  during  the 
specified  hours  of  employment.  That  the  great  body  of 
soldiers  who  had  served  jn  the  army  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  had  become  veterans,  and  were  practically 
regulars  as  far  as  regards  drill,  discipline,  and  field  ex- 
perience, there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  these  men  would 
16 


THE  ARMY'S  EARLY  YEARS.         17 

not  remain  in  the  army  and  could  not  be  induced  to  re- 
enlist,  for  they  all  had  before  them  in  those  colonial 
days  a  career  that  offered  far  more  in  every  way  than 
life  in  the  army.*  Moreover,  most  of  them  had  entered 
the  service  from  motives  of  pure  patriotism  only,  and 
now  that  the  various  colonies  had  become  States  and 
secured  their  independence  they  looked  upon  their  work 
in  the  army  as  accomplished,  as  in  fact  it  was,  and  they 
were  anxious  to  resume  their  former  occupations,  get 
out  from  under  the  irksome  military  control,  drill,  and 
discipline  of  army  life,  and  become  free  and  independ- 
ent citizens  once  more.  The  exigencies  of  the  country 
compelled  the  Continental  Government  to  retain  in 
service  a  few  officers  and  several  hundred  enlisted  men, 
but  such  force  was  never  recognised  by  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  as  a  standing  army,  and  in  fact  ex- 
isted only  on  sufferance  and  purely  as  a  matter  of 
actual  necessity,  and  any  efforts  looking  to  its  per- 
manency were  always  promptly  negatived  by  the  major- 
ity of  the  congressional  delegates.  An  examination 
of  the  Journals  of  the  Continental  Congress  will  show 
that  the  idea  of  a  permanent  military  force  in  time 
of  peace  was  thoroughly  unpopular,  and  on  May  26, 
1784,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were 
adopted: 

"  Whereas,  Different  opinions  exist  in  Congress  re- 
specting their  authority  to  make  requisitions  in  the 
several  States  for  land  forces  in  times  of  peace;  for  a 
small  number  of  land  forces  for  a  short  period  must 

*  The  pay  of  the  enlisted  men  of  the  United  States  army  in 
1785  was  as  follows  :  Sergeant,  $6  per  month  ;  corporal,  $5  ; 
musician,  $5  ;  private,  $4.  The  original  term  of  enlistment  was 
for  three  years,  but  in  1802  it  was  changed  to  five  years. 


18  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

admit  an  unlimited  power  to  extend  their  requisitions, 
both  with  respect  to  numbers  and  time  of  service,  and 
must  preclude  the  States  from  a  right  of  deliberating, 
and  leave  them  only  an  executive  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject; 

"And  whereas,  Congress  being  authorized  to  make 
foreign  and  domestic  loans  and  issue  bills  of  credit  if 
permitted  to  raise  land  forces,  as  aforesaid  in  time  of 
peace,  will  be  furnished  with  such  coercive  measures  as 
must  be  very  alarming  to  the  several  States; 

"  And  whereas,  Standing  armies  in  time  of  peace  are 
inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  republican  govern- 
ments, dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  a  free  people,  and 
generally  converted  into  destructive  engines  for  estab- 
lishing despotism; 

(t  And  whereas,  The  United  States,  being  remote 
from  nations  that  have  peace  establishments,  may  avoid 
the  heavy  expenses  thereof  by  providing  a  small  number 
of  troops  for  garrisoning  their  posts  and  guarding  their 
magazines  and  by  being  always  in  a  state  of  defence 
on  the  plan  of  the  confederation,  which  provides  that 
every  State  shall  always  keep  up  a  well-regulated  and 
disciplined  militia  sufficiently  armed  and  accoutred,  and 
shall  provide  and  have  constantly  ready  for  use  in 
public  stores  a  due  number  of  field  pieces  and  tents 
and  a  proper  quantity  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  camp 
equipage; 

"  And  whereas,  In  so  doubtful  as  it  respects  the  au- 
thority of  Congress  and  of  such  high  importance  to 
the  Union,  it  is  expedient  that  the  delegates  should 
take  the  sense  of  their  constituents  on  the  subjects;  it  is 
the  duty  of  Congress  in  the  interim  to  suspend  the  exer- 
cise of  the  powers  aforesaid  for  that  purpose; 

"It  is  therefore  resolved,  That  recommendations  in 
lieu  of  requisitions  shall  be  sent  to  the  several  States 
for  raising  the  troops  which  may  be  immediately  neces- 


THE  ARMY'S  EARLY  YEARS.         19 

sary  for  garrisoning  the  Western  posts  and  guarding 
the  magazines  of  the  United  States,  unless  Congress 
should  think  it  expedient  to  employ  the  Continental 
troops  now  at  West  Point  in  the  service  aforesaid; 

"  Resolved,  That  the  commanding  officer  be  and  he 
is  hereby  directed  to  discharge  the  troops  now  in  the 
service  of  the  United  States,  except  twenty-five  pri- 
vates to  guard  the  stores  at  Fort  Pitt  and  fifty-five  to 
guard  the  stores  at  West  Point  and  other  magazines, 
with  a  proportionable  number  of  officers,  no  officer  to 
remain  in  service  above  the  rank  of  captain." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  land  forces  of  the 
United  States  in  1784  had  been  reduced  to  eighty  en- 
listed men,  with  no  commissioned  officer  above  the  rank 
of  captain.  Scarcely  formidable  enough  to  "be  very 
alarming  to  the  several  States."  Notwithstanding  the 
recommendation  so  courteously,  not  to  say  timidly, 
made  by  the  Congress,  the  several  States  did  not  re- 
spond with  troops,  thereby  quietly  ignoring  all  con- 
gressional action  in  the  matter.  The  truth  was  that 
the  Continental  Congress  had  been  shorn  of  nearly  all 
its  power  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation  adopted  in 
1778,  which  required  the  assent  of  nine  of  the  thirteen 
States  to  make  valid  its  most  important  acts.  In  the 
then  nebulous  state  o±  the  General  Government  and  the 
self-assertive,  not  to  say  defiant,  attitude  assumed  by 
some  of  the  States  toward  the  Continental  Congress  as 
well  as  toward  each  other  (for  the  jealousies  and  rival- 
ries between  the  thirteen  States  that  composed  the 
original  confederation  kept  constantly  cropping  up,  and 
frequently  upon  even  the  most  trivial  grounds),  it  would 
not  have  been  possible  for  the  Continental  Congress  to 
have  created  a  standing  army,  even  if  the  majority  of 


20  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

its  members  would  have  assented  to  such  a  proposition, 
which,  however,  it  is  reasonably  safe  to  say  that  they 
could  not  have  been  induced  to  do.  Still,  the  necessity 
for  troops  was  so  imperative  owing  to  Indian  troubles, 
and  the  States  were  so  slow — in  fact,  so  unwilling — to 
furnish  militia  for  frontier  service,  that  even  the  Conti- 
nental Congress  was  at  last  obliged  to  take  action,  and 
on  June  3,  1784,  after  considerable  hesitation,  they  au- 
thorized the  enrolment  and  equipping  of  a  small  regi- 
ment of  infantry;  and  again  on  October  20,  1786,  the 
exigencies  of  the  frontier  service  compelled  them  to 
raise  and  equip  a  battalion  of  artillery;  but  such  action, 
notwithstanding  its  evident  necessity,  was  unpopular 
with  the  people,  and  the  status  of  the  said  troops  was 
generally  regarded  as  only  that  of  a  temporary  body. 
In  fact,  now  that  the  war  of  the  Eevolution  was  over 
the  Continental  Congress  could  only  have  maintained 
troops  on  that  well-acknowledged  footing.  An  inquiry 
by  a  committee  of  Congress  into  the  size  and  condition 
of  the  army  elicited  the  information  that  on  October 
2,  1788,  the  Continental  troops  numbered  five  hundred 
and  ninety-five  men,  commanded  by  Brigadier-General 
Harmer.  But  the  Continental  Congress,  after  making  a 
most  glorious  historical  record  for  itself,  had  really 
finished  its  work  and  survived  its  usefulness,  and  ac- 
cordingly had  gradually  sunk  into  a  semi-lethargic 
state  with  few  to  do  it  reverence,  and  notwithstanding 
it  had  proved  itself  able  to  successfully  cope  with  and 
direct  the  colonies  during  the  stormy  scenes  of  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  the  Articles  of  Confederation  adopted 
in  1778  had  really  shorn  it  of  all  inherent  power,  and 
now  that  any  apprehension  regarding  the  outcome  of 
the  war  was  over  left  it  without  sufficient  authorized 


THE  ARMY'S  EARLY  YEARS.         21 

strength  to  enforce  its  demands  and  legally  rule  the 
young,  growing,  and  ambitious  States.  The  adoption 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the  elec- 
tion of  the  new  members  of  Congress  under  it,  and  the 
inauguration  of  the  President  in  1789,  however,  settled 
once  and  forever  the  question  of  a  nationality  as  far 
as  the  United  States  of  America  is  concerned,  and  from 
that  day  to  this  we  have  been  acknowledged  as,  and 
have  always  ably  maintained  ourselves  one  of  the 
nations  of  the  earth. 

About  this  time,  however— 1790  and  1791— there 
came  a  rude  awakening  as  to  the  reliance  that  could 
safely  be  placed  upon  the  comparatively  untrained 
militia  from  the  various  States.  A  call  had  been  made 
upon  the  States  for  militia  to  aid  our  few  regulars  in 
punishing  the  Indians  in  that  portion  of  the  then 
Northwestern  territory  known  as  the  Miami  Valley,  and 
which  is  now  a  part  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  Abetted  by 
Sir  John  Johnson,  a  former  British  Indian  agent,  and 
encouraged  by  the  English  authorities  in  Canada,  some 
of  the  Western  tribes  of  Indians  demanded  that  the 
Ohio  Eiver  should  be  the  boundary  line  between  the 
Indian  tribes  and  the  United  States  settlements.  Be- 
fusing  to  consider  any  arguments  against  their  de- 
cision, the  hostile  Indians  infested  the  west  bank  of 
the  stream  and  waylaid  the  boat  loads  of  emigrants 
descending  it,  slaughtering  them  mercilessly,  and  fur- 
thermore they  invaded  the  State  of  Kentucky,  at- 
tacked the  outlying  settlements,  and  killed  all  t'heir 
inhabitants,  sparing  neither  age  nor  sex.  During  the 
Revolutionary  War  these  savages  had  been  the  allies 
of  the  Canadian  British  and  had  been  well  armed  by 
them,  which  firearms  they  still  retained,  and,  further- 


22  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

more,  the   Canadian   authorities  saw  that  they   were 
well  supplied  with  ammunition. 

In  the  fall  of  1790  an  expedition,  under  command 
of  Brigadier-General  Harmer  of  the  regular  army,  con- 
sisting of  three  hundred  and  twenty  regulars  and  two 
quotas  of  militia  from  the  States  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Kentucky,  aggregating  a  little  more  than  fourteen  hun- 
dred men,  marched  against  the  Indian  village  known  as 
Chillicothe  on  the  Maumee  Eiver,  but  not  the  present 
town  of  Chillicothe  on  the  Scioto.  The  village  was 
burned,  the  cornfields  destroyed,  and  a  detachment  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  Kentucky  militia,  under 
Colonel  Hardin,  of  Kentucky,  together  with  thirty 
regulars  was  sent  in  pursuit.  This  detachment  was  am- 
bushed by  the  Indians,  and  the  militia  at  once  gave  way 
in  a  panic  without  making  anything  of  a  fight,  hardly 
firing  a  gun;  but  the  few  regulars  stood  bravely  up  to 
their  work  until  nearly  all  were  killed.  Colonel  Hardin 
rejoined  General  Harmer  with  his  shattered  command, 
and  the  latter,  after  falling  back  a  day's  march,  halted, 
and  upon  Colonel  Hardin's  earnestly  requesting  him  to 
allow  himself  and  his  militia  an  opportunity  to  retrieve 
their  misfortune,  he  ordered  him  back  with  four  hun- 
dred militia  and  sixty  regulars  to,  if  possible,  surprise 
the  Indians  at  the  head  of  the  Maumee  Eiver.  It  is 
said  that  the  unauthorized  discharge  of  a  gun  gave  the 
Indians  warning  of  the  approach  of  their  foes,  so  that 
the  attempted  surprise  was  a  failure.  Colonel  Hardin 
having  stationed  the  regulars  at  the  ford  of  the  Maumee 
to  protect  the  crossing,  pushed  forward  with  the  militia 
to  attack  the  Indians.  They  seemed  to  give  way,  and 
began  to  retreat  on  the  first  onset.  His  men,  unheeding 
his  positive  orders,  pushed  forward  recklessly  and  rap- 


THE  ARMY'S  EARLY  YEARS.        23 

idly  and  left  the  regulars  alone  at  the  ford.  They 
were  suddenly  attacked  in  great  force  by  a  large  body 
of  Indians  who  had  lain  in  ambush,  and  before  the 
militia  could  comprehend  what  was  the  matter  and 
fall  back  to  their  assistance,  which,  to  their  credit,  be 
it  said,  they  gallantly  did,  despite  the  splendid  con- 
duct of  the  regulars,  they  were  almost  literally  cut  to 
pieces  while  holding  the  ford.  After  a  desperate  strug- 
gle the  whites  were  defeated  and  fell  back,  leaving  fifty 
of  the  sixty  regulars  and  over  one  hundred  of  the  militia 
dead  on  the  field. 

Harmer  fell  back  to  Fort  Washington,  "  strangely 
enough  claiming  a  victory"  (Hildreth's  History  of 
the  United  States).  A  court  of  inquiry  acquitted  Gen- 
eral Harmer,  but  he  resigned  from  the  army.  Of 
this  affair  Schouler,  in  his  History  of  the  United 
States,  says:  "  Thus  ended  a  fruitless  campaign  which 
did  the  regular  troops  far  more  honour  than  the  mili- 
tia levies  or  they  who  commanded  the  expedition/' 
Disastrous  as  this  campaign  was,  however,  it  was  to  be 
succeeded  by  one  almost  infinitely  worse.  Realizing 
that  if  the  Government  proposed  to  establish  its  hold- 
ings west  of  the  Ohio  the  savages  must  be  compelled 
to  respect  its  authority,  Congress  at  once  authorized 
the  organization  and  equipment  of  a  strong  military 
force  to  occupy  and  to  hold  the  Maumee  country  by 
building  a  series  of  strongly  fortified  frontier  posts 
within  it,  and  permanently  garrisoning  them  for  the 
protection  of  the  emigrants.  Accordingly,  orders  were 
given  Major-General  Arthur  St.  Clair  of  the  army, 
who  at  that  time  was  the  Governor  of  the  Northwestern 
territory,  to  carry  out  these  instructions.  It  was  at 
that  particular  time,  however,  not  an  easy  matter  to 


24  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

accomplish,  and,  although  St.  Glair  was  an  old  officer, 
a  man  of  experience,  patriotic,  of  undoubted  courage, 
and  a  good  counsellor,  he  found  it  uphill  work  to  as- 
semble his  command. 

He  had  been,  too,  in  some  respects  singularly  unfor- 
tunate in  military  affairs,  notwithstanding  that  he  had 
held  high  command  at  various  times  during  the  Revo- 
lution. He  was  an  accomplished  gentleman  and  gen- 
erally regarded  as  a  capable  officer;  but  in  addition  to 
the  fact  that  he  was  already  well  on  in  years,  he  was 
unfortunately  a  victim  of  gout,  and  at  times  suffered 
excruciatingly  from  it.  Eecruiting  was  slow,  good  men 
were  not  to  be  had,  and  the  army  contractors  nearly 
all  failed  to  furnish  the  equipment  and  supplies  needed 
and  contracted  for.  The  summer  slowly  waned  ere  he 
was  approximately  ready,  and  it  was  not  until  late  in 
September  that  General  St.  Clair  moved  out  from  his 
encampment  for  the  Great  Miami,  where  he  built  a 
stockaded  fort,  which  was  called  Fort  Hamilton.  His 
command  numbered  twenty-three  hundred  regulars, 
which  included  some  artillery,  a  small  body  of  cavalry, 
and  two  or  three  regiments  of  infantry,  together  with 
several  small  regiments  of  militia,  aggregating  some- 
thing more  than  fourteen  hundred  men,  so  that  his 
entire  force  was  about  thirty-seven  hundred  fighting 
men. 

Leaving  a  garrison  at  Fort  Hamilton,  he  slowly 
pushed  on  to  a  point  south  of  what  is  now  Greenville, 
Ohio,  where  he  built  another  stockaded  post  and  called 
it  Fort  Jefferson.  Leaving  another  garrison  here, 
he  started  again  for  the  Maumee  country.  It  was 
now  the  24th  of  October,  the  roads  were  bad,  his  trans- 
portation poor,  and  the  command  marched  less  than 


THE  ARMY'S  EARLY  YEARS.        25 

seven  miles  a  day  on  an  average.  The  regulars  were 
composed  of  more  than  half  recent  recruits,  and  the 
militia  was,  it  is  said,  made  up  principally  of  substi- 
tutes, who  grew  to  be  almost  totally  ungovernable. 
There  had  been  scarcely  any  opportunity  for  drill,  and 
discipline  was  almost  at  an  end,  especially  among  the 
militia.  The  commissariat  was  a  partial  failure;  food 
was  scarce,  clothing  was  scanty,  even  the  regulars  mur- 
mured, and  on  October  27th  part  of  the  militia  claimed 
that  their  term  of  service  had  expired  and  loudly  de- 
manded their  discharge.  The  whole  command  was  dis- 
pirited and  straggled  badly,  some  of  the  men  left  the 
column  to  shoot  game  in  direct  violation  of  orders,  and 
desertions  were  of  nightly  occurrence,  especially  among 
the  militia,  at  one  time  sixty  of  them  deserting  in  a 
body.  Fearing  that  these  men  might  seize  his  train  of 
supplies  then  on  the  way  to  the  front,  St.  Glair  detached 
three  hundred  of  the  First  Kegiment  of  regulars  (his 
best  troops)  to  go  back  and  protect  it,  thereby  weaken- 
ing his  force  to  that  extent.  He  now  had  only  about 
fourteen  hundred  effective  men  left,  and  on  the  night 
of  November  3d  he  encamped  on  what  he  thought  to 
be  a  tributary  of  the  Miami  Eiver,  but  which  proved 
to  be  a  branch  of  the  upper  Wabash.  There  was  a 
slight  snow  on  the  ground,  and  the  troops  went  into 
camp  in  comparatively  good  order  and  took  up  a  position 
well  suited  to  defence.  It  was,  however,  a  force  greatly 
weakened  for  want  of  proper  food,  and  many  of  the 
men  were  shaking  with  chills  and  fever.  As  for  the 
commanding  general,  for  days  past  he  had  had  to  be 
lifted  on  and  off  his  horse,  and  so  severely  did  he  suffer 
from  gout  that  part  of  the  way  he  had  to  be  carried  on 
a  litter. 


26  .       THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

It  is  said  that  Captain  Slough  (or  Hough)  of  the 
militia,  whose  duty  it  was  to  scout  for  Indians,  saw 
so  many  creeping  through  the  forest  in  the  late  dusk 
of  this  evening  that  he  fell  back  to  the  militia  camp 
at  once  and  personally  reported  the  fact  to  General 
Butler,  who  was  the  next  ranking  officer  to  the  com- 
manding general,  and  in  command  of  the  militia.  Gen- 
eral Butler  thanked  him  and  told  him  to  go  into  camp, 
but  it  is  claimed  that  Butler  did  not  send  this  informa- 
tion to  headquarters,  and  furthermore  it  is  alleged  that 
certain  orders  given  by  General  St.  Glair  to  Colonel 
Oldham  of  the  militia  were  not  carried  out.  The  night 
passed  quietly  and  uneventfully.  Before  dawn  all  the 
troops  were  awakened  and  up,  fully  armed  and  stand- 
ing in  ranks  at  daylight,  but  everything  was  quiet- 
Scarcely  had  they  been  dismissed,  broken  ranks,  and 
reached  their  tents,  however,  when  a  heavy  musketry 
fire  was  heard  in  the  direction  of  the  militia  camp,  and 
almost  before  the  nearest  regulars  could  form  in  line, 
the  militia,  dashing  wildly  across  a  little  creek  that 
separated  them  from  the  camp  of  the  regulars,  were 
driven  pellmell  and  in  wild  disorder  through  the  line  of 
the  regulars,  badly  breaking  it,  as  they  sought  to  es- 
cape from  their  savage  foes,  who  were  right  on  their 
heels  and  shooting  them  down  with  practically  no  resist- 
ance on  their  part.  In  a  moment  the  regulars  partially 
reformed  their  broken  line  and  poured  in  a  volley  that 
checked  the  mad  rush  of  the  savages  and  enabled  the 
troops  just  in  their  rear  to  form  and  advance  to  their 
aid,  while  a  few  of  the  stampeded  militia  soon  rallied 
and  bravely  took  part  in  the  battle.  The  attack  was 
made  by  not  less  than  one  thousand  (and  probably  near- 
ly two  thousand)  well-armed  Indians,  led  by  Thayenda- 


THE  ARMY'S  EARLY  YEARS.        27 

nega  (and  not  by  Little  Turtle,  a  chief  of  the  Miamis,  as 
was  generally  supposed  for  some  years),  known  to  the 
Canadians  as  Joseph  Brant.  It  is  claimed  that  he  was  a 
half-breed  Mohawk,  and  it  is  said  that  he  was  a  natural 
son  of  Sir  William  Johnson*  but  this  statement  was 
never  satisfactorily  verified,  and  is  probably  untrue. 
No  matter  what  his  ancestry  and  whether  a  full-breed 
or  half-breed  Indian  he  was  a  great  warrior,  a  strong 
friend  of  the  English,  and  was  sufficiently  well  educated 
to  have  held  the  position  of  secretary  to  Sir  Guy  John- 
son when  he  was  general  superintendent  of  the  Ca- 
nadian Indians.  So  sudden  was  the  attack  that  there 
was  little  time  for  formation;  in  fact,  the  Indians  had 
penetrated  to  the  edge  of  the  camps  on  the  first  onset, 
and  the  fighting  for  a  few  moments  was  a  general  melee. 
Soon,  however,  the  artillery  opened  fire  from  the  centre 
of  each  camp,  both  regular  and  militia,  and  the  savages 
were  for  a  short  time  compelled  to  partially  give  way. 
After  the  first  onslaught  the  regular  troops  behaved 
very  well,  and  some  few  of  the  militia  equally  so.  A 
formation  was  made  to  protect  the  guns  and  a  line  of 
battle  formed  against  the  savages,  while  the  officers, 
both  regular  and  militia,  fought  like  heroes,  almost 
without  exception.  They  were  here,  there,  and  every- 
where where  the  fighting  was  heaviest,  cheering  on 
their  men  and  holding  them  up  to  their  work  by  both 
precept  and  example,  but  their  distinctive  uniform  told 
heavily  against  them,  and  they  were  shot  down  merci- 
lessly by  the  Indian  riflemen,  who  coolly  picked  them 
off  from  the  vantage  of  the  woodside  cover  without  in 
any  way  exposing  themselves.  Soon  the  galling  fire 
of  the  unseen  foe  became  unbearable  and  a  bayonet 
charge  to  clear  the  wood  in  their  immediate  front  was 


28  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

ordered.  This  was  most  gallantly  executed,  and  the 
Indians  fled  at  the  advance,  but  the  moment  the 
troops  fell  back  to  the  artillery  the  Indians  pursued 
them  and  once  more  took  up  their  former  position,  and, 
lying  concealed  behind  the  trees  and  in  the  underbrush 
and  long  grass,  kept  up  a  deadly  fire  against  the  ex- 
posed troops,  who  had  little  chance  of  hitting  them  as 
they  lay  prone  on  the  earth  under  cover.  Twice  again 
did  the  troops  clear  their  front  by  a  bayonet  charge,  but 
it  was  of  no  avail.  The  pursued  savages  only  flitted 
from  tree  to  tree,  from  grassy  hummock  to  hummock,  to 
return  again  and  again  to  the  attack  as  soon  as  the 
troops  fell  back  to  protect  their  artillery  and  hold  their 
camp.  St.  Glair  personally  behaved  with  the  greatest 
coolness  and  courage.  He  was  twice  placed  upon  two 
different  horses,  which  were  both  shot  under  him  while 
he  rode  up  and  down  his  lines,  his  white  hair  waving  in 
the  wind  as  he  directed  and  encouraged  his  troops.  His 
clothes  were  cut  in  a  number  of  places  by  bullets,  and 
when  his  second  horse  was  killed  and  another  could 
not  be  had,  he  was  placed  on  his  litter  in  the  rear  of 
his  lines  (for  his  gout  was  so  bad  that  he  could  not 
stand)  and  directed  the  fight  as  he  sat  upright  on  it. 
For  more  than  three  hours  this  unequal  contest  against 
a  practically  unseen  foe  went  on  until  finally  it  became 
evident  that  the  outcome  of  attempting  to  hold  their 
position  and  save  their  artillery  meant  simple  annihila- 
tion. General  Butler  was  already  mortally  wounded, 
and  more  than  half  the  commissioned  officers  of  the 
command  were  dead  or  wounded  when  orders  were  given 
to  retreat.  Colonel  Darke  of  the  regulars  was  directed 
to  gain  the  trail  by  a  bayonet  charge,  which  he  suc- 
cessfully accomplished,  and  held  his  position,  while,  as 


The  defeat  of  St.  Clair — the  regulars  covering  the  retreat. 


THE  ARMY'S  EARLY  YEARS.         29 

McMaster  (who  quotes  from  a  letter  of  Captain  Bunting) 
writes,  "  the  militia,  pale  with  fear,  rushed  wildly  along 
it  as  he  covered  the  retreat.  Nothing  could  stay  them; 
every  man  dropped  his  musket,  pulled  off  his  heavy 
boots,  threw  away  his  hat  and  coat,  and,  deaf  to  the  cries 
of  the  weak  and  wounded,  ran  with  all  his  might.  So 
great  was  their  speed  that  the  twenty-nine  miles  it  had 
taken  ten  days  to  march  were  passed  over  during  the 
short  sunlight  of  a  November  day.  Before  six  that 
night  the  army  was  once  more  at  Fort  Jefferson."  The 
savages  pursued  the  retreating  troops  only  four  miles, 
and  then  returned  to  kill  and  scalp  the  wounded.  All 
the  camp  equipage,  artillery,  and  supplies  were  lost. 
Every  artillery  horse  had  been  shot  down,  and  General 
St.  Clair  at  the  last  moment  was  put  upon  an  old  ema- 
ciated army  team  horse  that  could  not  be  spurred  to 
move  out  of  a  walk.  Out  of  eighty-six  commissioned 
officers  and  fourteen  hundred  enlisted  men  who  took 
part  in  the  action,  thirty-nine  commissioned  officers 
were  killed  and  twenty-two  wounded,  and  six  hundred 
enlisted  men  killed  and  two  hundred  and  fourteen 
wounded.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  for  the  citizens  of 
the  republic  it  was  for  the  time  being  an  object  lesson 
as  to  the  necessity  of  a  reasonably  strong,  well-drilled, 
and  carefully  disciplined  regular  army. 

The  first  legal  recognition  of  any  body  of  troops  by 
the  United  States  Government  as  a  portion  of  a  fixed 
or  standing  army  in  time  of  peace  was  accomplished  by 
an  act  of  Congress,  September  29,  1789,  when  the  regi- 
ment of  infantry  authorized  and  raised  by  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  on  June  3,  1784,  and  which  was  still 
in  service,  was  designated  as  "  the  regiment  of  infantry 
in  the  service  of  the  United  States."  This  regiment 


30  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

was  for  years  the  First  United  States  Infantry,  and  in 
fact  until  May  17,  1815,  was  the  nucleus  from  which 
has  slowly,  haltingly,  and  hesitatingly  been  developed 
the  regular  army  of  the  United  States.  Nevertheless, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  from  1789  to  1815  the 
United  States  Government,  by  congressional  enact- 
ments from  time  to  time  as  occasion  seemed  to  warrant, 
kept  a  legally  organized  army  in  existence,  increasing 
or  diminishing  it  according  to  the  military  necessities 
of  the  country,  its  strength  ranging  at  various  times 
from  three  thousand  to  nearly  thirty  thousand  men. 
It  was  not  until  March  3,  1815,  that  an  act  of  Congress 
plainly  and  distinctly  authorized  a  permanent  military 
establishment  on  a  peace  basis.  It  provided  for  two 
major  generals,  four  brigadiers,  and  such  proportions 
of  artillery,  infantry,  and  riflemen  as  the  President 
might  deem  proper,  and  retained  the  corps  of  engi- 
neers as  then  already  established,  and  from  thencefor- 
ward our  Government  has  not  been  without  a  duly  au- 
thorized standing  army. 

In  1793  General  Washington,  then  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  his  annual  message  to  Congress, 
asks  the  question  as  to  whether  a  material  feature 
in  the  improvement  of  the  system  of  military  defence 
"ought  not  to  be  to  afford  an  opportunity  for  the 
study  of  those  branches  of  the  art  (military)  which 
can  scarcely  ever  be  obtained  by  practice  alone,"  but 
Mr.  Jefferson,  who  was  Secretary  of  State,  opposed 
the  idea  of  a  military  academy  as  unauthorized  by 
the  Constitution.  However,  the  other  members  of 
the  Cabinet  (Hamilton,  Knox,  and  Eandolph)  thought 
otherwise,  so  the  President  left  the  matter  to  the  de- 
cision of  Congress  without  directly  recommending  its 


THE  WEST  POINT  MILITARY  ACADEMY.        31 

authorization;  but  in  1796  he  most  earnestly  recom- 
mended its  establishment  in  his  annual  message  "for 
cogent  reasons,"  which  he  states  at  length  and  on  the 
grounds  that,  "  however  pacific  the  general  policy  of  a 
nation  may  be,  it  ought  never  to  be  without  an  adequate 
stock  of  military  knowledge.  .  .  .  The  art  of  war  is  ex- 
tensive and  complicated;  it  demands  much  previous 
study,  and  the  possession  of  it  in  its  most  improved 
and  perfect  state  is  always  of  great  moment  to  the 
security  of  a  nation." 

It  was  not,  however,  till  1802  that  a  military 
academy  was  authorized  by  Congress  and  established 
at  West  Point,  N.  Y.  Its  first  body  of  students  con- 
sisted of  forty  cadets  appointed  and  attached  to  the 
artillery,  and  ten  cadets  appointed  and  attached  to 
the  battalion  of  engineers.  From  this  time  forward 
this  military  school  steadily  developed,  and  has  never 
retrograded  in  the  slightest  degree  until  now  (for 
the  purposes  for  which  it  is  intended)  the  West  Point 
Military  Academy,  is  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  who 
is  not  a  graduate  of  the  academy,  but  who  has  seen  and 
examined  many  of  the  European  military  schools,  the 
best  military  school  in  the  world  for  the  practical 
education  of  an  officer  of  the  line.  Its  numbers  have 
been  increased  by  act  of  Congress  to  one  appointment 
from  each  congressional  district  in  the  United  States, 
and  the  President  is  authorized  to  appoint  "  at  large  " 
ten  cadets  each  year,  which  are  usually,  but  not  neces- 
sarily and  only  as  a  matter  of  courtesy  and  favour, 
given  to  the  sons  of  deceased  and  living  army  and  navy 
officers. 

Cadets  must  be  between  seventeen  and  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  unmarried,  at  least  five  feet  three  inches 


32  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  height,  free  from  any  infirmity  which  may  render 
them  unfit  for  military  service,  and  "  suitable  prepa- 
ration, good  natural  capacity,  an  aptitude  for  study, 
industrious  habits,  perseverance,  an  obedient  and  order- 
ly disposition,  and  a  correct  moral  deportment  are 
essential  qualifications." 

They  must  be  well  versed  in  reading,  in  writing  (in- 
cluding orthography),  in  arithmetic,  and  have  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  elements  of  English  grammar,  of  descriptive 
geography  (particularly  of  our  own  country),  and  of  the 
history  of  the  United  States.  Admission  to  the  corps 
of  cadets  is  in  June,  and  from  the  day  of  his  entrance 
until  the  day  of  his  graduation,  four  years  from  the 
date  of  his  admission,  the  cadet  is  a  soldier  student. 
He  is  immediately  inducted  into  the  school  of  the  sol- 
dier, and  his  "  setting  up  "  begins  within  a  few  hours 
of  his  arrival  at  the  academy. 

The  discipline  is  necessarily  very  strict  and  almost 
Spartanlike  in  its  severity,  and  it  is  impossible  that, 
unless  he  is  an  unusually  brilliant  lad,  a  student  can 
pass  the  required  examinations  in  January  and  June 
without  close  application  and  hard  and  persistent  study. 
The  cadet  corps  forms  a  battalion  of  infantry  of  four 
companies,  which  is  drilled  with  wonderful  precision 
and  an  attention  to  detail  in  dress,  arms,  equipment, 
discipline,  guard  duty,  and  guard  mounting  that  leaves 
nothing  to  be  desired.  This  battalion  goes  into  camp 
near  Fort  Clinton,  facing  on  the  parade  ground  at  the 
academy,  after  the  close  of  the  annual  June  examina- 
tion, and  the  men  only  return  to  barracks  on  the  1st 
of  September,  when  the  routine  studies  are  resumed. 
The  company  officers,  adjutant,  and  non-commissioned 
officers  of  the  battalion  are  taken  from  among  the 


THE  WEST  POINT  MILITARY  ACADEMY.        33 

most  distinguished  of  the  cadets.*  The  curriculum  of 
the  academy,  in  addition  to  strictly  military  knowledge, 
includes  everything  else  that  it  is  requisite  that  an  offi- 
cer of  the  army  should  be  informed  upon.  A  cadet  of 
average  ability  can  not  successfully  pass  his  examina- 
tions without  spending  from  twelve  to  fourteen  hours 
daily  in  study  and  drill  during  his  entire  course  of  in- 
struction. The  pay  of  a  cadet  is  now  five  hundred  and 
forty  dollars  per  year,  and  is  sufficient,  with  proper 
economy,  for  his  support.  No  cadet  is  permitted  to 
receive  money  from  his  parents  or  from  any  person 
whomsoever.  At  the  end  of  his  four  years'  academic 
course  the  young  cadet  is  graduated,  given  his  diploma, 
and  is  commissioned  a  second  lieutenant  in  the  army. 
As  he  steps  back  into  line  after  receiving  his  diploma 
amid  the  plaudits  of  the  cadet  battalion,  let  us  take  a 
good  look  at  him.  His  age  will  be  from  twenty-one  to 
twenty-five  years.  He  is  slightly  formed  as  a  general 
thing,  but  sinewy  to  a  degree,  and  is  a  trained  athlete 
with  a  military  bearing,  and  has  a  complexion  that  be- 

*  During  his  four  years'  course  at  the  Military  Academy  a 
cadet's  routine  duties  include  severe  and  painstaking  drill  as  an 
enlisted  man  in  the  three  arms  of  the  service — infantry,  cavalry, 
and  artillery — under  able  line  officers  of  the  army,  who  have 
been  especially  selected  for  their  capacity  to  impart  instruction 
in  that  direction.  He  is  required  to  learn  every  essential  detail 
of  a  private  soldier's  life  in  each  arm  of  the  service,  and  is  also 
practically  versed  in  military  bridge  building,  field  fortifications, 
and  guard  and  post  duty.  His  academic  studies  are  under  able 
and  brilliant  military  professors,  who,  by  authority  of  law,  hold 
high  assimilated  rank  in  the  army  and  are  most  competent  in 
the  especial  line  of  their  profession  which  it  is  their  duty  to  teach. 
During  each  day's  work  and  study  he  is  under  the  most  rigid 
military  supervision,  which  is  rarely  relaxed,  save  on  special 
occasions,  and  even  then  he  is  held  strictly  within  bounds. 


34:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

tokens  the  very  acme  of  health,  the  outcome  of  four 
years  of  plain  substantial  living,  combined  with  daily 
military  drill,  good  hours,  and  scarcely  any  possible 
opportunity  for  dissipation.  He  is  a  fine  swordsman, 
a  good  dancer,  a  bold  rider,  a  good  shot,  perfectly  drilled 
in  the  manual  of  arms,  an  excellent  gunner,  and  can 
drill  a  battery  of  artillery,  a  troop  of  cavalry,  or  a  com- 
pany of  infantry  with  a  precision  that  betokens  a  knowl- 
edge of  its  every  detail. 

He  is  generally  an  able  mathematician,  thoroughly 
posted  in  military  history,  a  good  grammarian,  well  up 
in  civil  and  military  law  and  in  the  history  of  his  coun- 
try and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Has  a 
fine  knowledge  of  geography,  is  an  excellent  civil  and 
military  engineer,  has  a  good  general  idea  of  chem- 
istry, mineralogy,  and  geology,  is  well  posted  in  ord- 
nance and  gunnery,  and  fairly  well  up  in  the  French  and 
Spanish  languages,  and  is  an  average  draughtsman  with 
a  good  knowledge  of  drawing,  and  he  knows  considerable 
of  natural  and  experimental  philosophy.  In  truth,  he 
is  a  generally  all-around  well-informed  man,  and  espe- 
cially so  in  all  that  appertains  to  his  profession.  For 
four  years  able  and  devoted  professors  and  thoroughly 
competent  tactical  instructors  selected  from  among  the 
line  officers  of  the  army  have  spared  neither  time  nor 
labour  in  his  intellectual,  moral,  social,  and  physical 
development.  He  has  been  taught  by  precept  and  ex- 
ample that  he  must  be  considerate,  courteous,  and  gen- 
tlemanly in  demeanour,  truthful,  honest,  upright,  and 
candid  in  all  things,  accurate  in  his  statements,  con- 
scientious in  the  performance  of  every  duty,  and  ever 
and  always  loyal  to  the  land  of  his  birth  and  the  Gov- 
ernment that  has  so  generously  educated  him.  Hence- 


OFFICERS  FROM  OTHER  SOURCES.  35 

forth  his  career  is  his  own.  Everything  that  could  be 
done  to  lay  deep  and  broad  the  foundation  of  a  noble 
and  upright  character  has  been  done  for  him  in  his 
four  years'  course  at  the  United  States  Military  Acad- 
emy, and  if  hereafter  he  fails  to  be  a  credit  to  his  Alma 
Mater  and  reach  the  high  standard  of  a  soldier  and  a 
gentleman  it  will  be  only  his  own  fault.  To  the  lasting 
credit  of  the  Military  Academy  be  it  said  that  its  grad- 
uates rarely,  very  rarely,  fail  to  do  its  teachings  honour 
and  reflect  credit,  distinction,  and  even  fame  upon  the 
institution. 

In  addition  to  the  graduates  of  the  Military  Acad- 
emy, officers  of  the  army  are  commissioned  from  two 
other  sources — that  is,  from  civil  life  and  by  promotion 
from  among  the  enlisted  men  of  the  army.  Appoint- 
ments of  civilians  in  time  of  peace  are  rare,  but  never- 
theless such  appointments  are  occasionally  made.  The 
person  so  appointed  must  pass  a  rigid  physical  and  a 
good  intellectual  examination,  and  ordinarily  be  under 
thirty  years  of  age.  As  soon  as  commissioned  he  will 
be  sent  to  join  his  regiment  and  assigned  to  duty  under 
some  able  captain,  who  generally  gives  a  great  deal  of 
his  time  for  the  first  six  months  to  instructing  his  new 
subordinate.  After  serving  two  years  with  his  regi- 
ment he  is  sent  for  a  two  years'  course  to  the  School  of 
Application,  a  post-graduate  school  for  officers  of  cavalry 
and  infantry  located  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas;  or 
if  he  should  have  been  assigned  to  the  artillery  he  will 
be  sent  to  the  Artillery  School,  at  Fortress  Monroe,  Vir- 
ginia, for  a  two  years'  course  at  that  institution. 
Graduates  of  the  Military  Academy  after  serving  from 
two  to  five  years  with  their  regiments  are  also  sent 
for  two  years'  instruction  to  these  post-graduate  schools. 


36  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

When  an  enlisted  man  is  recommended  for  exami- 
nation for  promotion  to  the  rank  of  a  commissioned 
officer  he  becomes  at  once  a  marked  man,  for  the  fact 
that  he  is  so  recommended  establishes  beyond  question 
that  he  has  shown  himself  of  superior  worth  and  ability 
and  is  a  thoroughly  good  soldier.  He  is  generally  a 
non-commissioned  officer  of  several  years'  service,  of 
unexceptionable  character,  and  must  be  a  well-edu- 
cated man  to  pass  the  examining  board.  He  must  also 
be  indorsed  and  recommended  by  his  company,  troop, 
or  battery  commander,  his  post  commander,  and  the 
commanding  officer  of  his  regiment.  If  ordered  before 
an  examining  board  by  the  War  Department  on  such 
recommendation,  and  if  he  is  successful  in  passing  his 
examination,  which  is  certainly  searching  and  severe, 
he  is  commissioned  and  appointed  to  some  regiment 
other  than  the  one  in  which  he  has  been  serving  as  an 
enlisted  man.  After  two  years'  service  with  his  regi- 
ment he  is  sent  to  the  post-graduate  school  at  Fort 
Leavenworth  for  a  two  years'  course  of  study,  and  ex- 
perience has  demonstrated  that  such  appointments  gen- 
erally make  fine  officers.  The  Army  Register  for  1898 
contained  the  names  of  more  than  one  hundred  and 
sixty  officers  appointed  from  the  ranks  solely  for  merit, 
among  them  some  of  the  ablest  officers  in  our  army, 
a  few  of  whom  during  the  last  thirty-five  years  have 
deservedly  attained  high  and  distinguished  rank. 

In  time  of  war,  and  especially  if  the  army  is  in- 
creased to  meet  such  an  emergency,  many  second  lieu- 
tenants are  appointed  from  civil  life,  and  generally  sent 
at  once  to  the  field.  Most  of  them  have  some  military 
knowledge  obtained  by  service  in  some  crack  regiment 
of  the  State  national  guard  or  at  State  military  schools 


OFFICERS  FROM  OTHER  SOURCES.  37 

or  colleges  which  have  a  detailed  officer  of  the  army  for 
the  especial  military  instruction  of  the  students,  or 
from  private  academies  which  are  conducted  on  a  mili- 
tary basis  modelled  to  some  extent  upon  the  Military 
Academy  at  West  Point. 

If  the  regular  army  is  increased  by  act  of  Congress 
at  the  close  of  a  war,  then  the  appointment  of  officers 
in  the  new  regiments  are  very  largely  made  up  from 
among  officers  of  volunteers  who  have  shown  fine  natu- 
ral military  ability  and  rendered  great  and  most  dis- 
tinguished services  on  the  field  of  battle.  Many  of  the 
ranking  officers  of  the  regular  army  of  to-day  are  from 
among  this  class,  who  most  gallantly  won  their  spurs 
and  the  recognition  of  the  War  Department  by  the 
superb  handling  of  their  troops  in  action  and  their 
own  magnificent  and  conspicuous  courage  in  the  fore- 
front of  battle,  notably  the  present  commanding  gen- 
eral of  the  army,  Lieutenant-General  Nelson  A.  Miles. 

NOTE. — Among  the  ranking  officers  of  the  army  who  have 
deservedly  attained  high  rank  and  who  were  appointed  in  the 
regular  army  from  the  volunteers  are  the  following :  Major-Gen- 
erals J.  R.  Brooke  and  E.  S.  Otis,  Brigadier-Generals  James  F. 
Wade  and  H.  C.  Merriam  in  the  line.  The  adjutant  general  of 
the  army,  Major-General  H.  C.  Corbin,  entered  the  service  as  a 
second  lieutenant  of  volunteers  in  1862.  Colonel  Schwan,  of  the 
adjutant  general's  department,  is  a  promotion  from  the  ranks  of 
the  regular  army.  He  is  now,  as  brigadier  general  of  volunteers, 
commanding  a  brigade  in  the  Philippines.  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Arthur  McArthur,  of  the  adjutant  general's  department,  entered 
the  service  in  1862  as  a  first  lieutenant  of  volunteers.  He  is 
now  commanding  our  army  in  the  Philippines  as  a  major  general 
of  volunteers. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    REVOLUTIONARY    FRONTIER — ARMY    EXPLORERS — 
THE   WAR   OF   1812   AND   THE   WAR   WITH   MEXICO. 

ARMY  life  on  the  frontier  in  the  early  days  of  the 
republic  was  especially  hard,  from  the  fact  that  our 
country,  just  emerging  from  a  long  and  bloody  war,  was 
not  only  poor  financially  and  comparatively  weak  nu- 
merically, but  was  really  placed  under  the  ban  by  her 
frontier  neighbours,  the  English,  the  Spanish,  and  even 
the  French  Canadians,  who  as  a  general  thing  were 
loyal  sons  of  the  monarchies  of  Europe,  and  could  not 
readily  accept  the  startling  fact  that  the  North  Ameri- 
can colonies  of  Great  Britain  had  developed  into  inde- 
pendent States  and  turned  a  rebellion  against  consti- 
tuted authority  into  a  successful  revolution,  thereby 
establishing  a  government  which  did  not  recognise  the 
divine  right  of  kings  nor  believe  that  certain  estab- 
lished classes  of  society  were  entitled  to  especial  recog- 
nition or  consideration  from  the  fact  that  they  hap- 
pened to  be  born  of  titled  or  distinguished  ancestors. 
The  result  was  that  whenever  the  republic  sought  to 
maintain  its  borders  intact  and  to  deny  certain  claims 
boldly  set  up  by  the  French  and  English  trappers  and 
traders  it  was  almost  constantly  in  hot  water.  More- 
over, the  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Spain 
38 


THE  OLD  FRONTIER.  39 

on  our  northern  and  southern  borders  who  had  estab- 
lished well-fortified  and  profitable  fur-trading  posts 
and  held  them  under  the  flag  of  their  respective  nations 
were  most  unwilling  to  admit  the  authority  of  the 
United  States  and  haul  down  their  flags  and  take  their 
departure  when  duly  warned  as  trespassers.  The  result 
was  a  desultory  border  war  for  a  number  of  years, 
finally  culminating  in  an  Indian  war  that  lasted  from 
1790  to  1794,  which  really  arose  from  the  fact  that  the 
Indians  were  encouraged  and  set  on  by  the  trappers 
and  traders  before  mentioned.  During  these  years  gar- 
rison life  on  the  borders  was  of  such  a  transitory  nature 
that  it  meant  only  the  temporary  housing  or  hutting 
of  the  troops  in  roughly  constructed  log  barracks  for, 
at  most,  a  few  winters  in  any  one  location.  These  bar- 
racks were  built  by  the  labour  of  the  troops,  who  also 
erected  the  officers'  quarters,  which  in  most  cases  were 
of  one  room  only,  though  the  quarters  of  the  command- 
ing officer  occasionally  consisted  of  two  rooms  divided 
by  a  hall,  which  was  generally  used  in  warm  weather 
as  an  office  and  dining  room.  The  troops  consisted  of 
riflemen  only,  so  that  there  was  no  occasion  for  stables, 
and  the  post  was  generally  stockaded,  and  consequently 
built  very  compactly.  In  those  days  the  officers  did 
not  have  their  families  with  them — in  fact,  such  a  thing 
could  not  be  thought  of.  The  frontier  meant  constant 
liability  to  attack  from  the  Indians,  and  there  was  no 
adequate  protection  nor  convenience  for  women  and 
children. 

It  was  a  rough,  hard  life,  and  one  of  almost  con- 
stant danger,  but,  to  their  credit  be  it  said,  the  officers 
generally  maintained  strict  discipline.  They  kept  their 
troops  in  fine  order  and  well  drilled,  and  the  little  log 


40  THE  STOEY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

frontier  posts,  with  no  one  to  look  on,  mounted  guard 
and  held  daily  dress  parades  with  as  much  form,  cere- 
mony, and  precision  as  though  they  were  mounting 
guard  under  the  eye  of  the  President.  It  is  this  atten- 
tion to  detail  and  devotion  to  daily  duty,  this  refusal  to 
yield  under  even  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  that 
is  one  of  the  very  best  characteristics  of  the  American 
officer,  and  it  has  come  down  to  us  unimpaired  through 
three  generations. 

The  fact  that  the  great  cities  of  Pittsburg,  Cincin- 
nati, Buffalo,  Detroit,  and  Chicago  were  within  the 
present  century  only  small  hamlets  grouped  around 
a  little  frontier  army  post  for  protection  seems  almost 
incredible,  yet  such  is  the  fact,  not  only  with  these 
cities,  but  many  others  of  only  a  little  less  importance. 

As  the  country  settled  up  around  these  posts  they 
were  enlarged  and  beautified.  Many  of  the  new  settlers 
who  came  from  the  Atlantic  coast  to  the  then  frontier 
were  of  the  best  class  of  our  citizens,  highly  cultured, 
finely  educated,  and  the  officers  soon  brought  out  their 
wives  and  families,  and  then  army  life  became  delight- 
ful. The  warmest  friendships  were  formed  between  the 
citizens  and  soldiers,  and  many  of  the  young  officers 
found  lovely  and  accomplished  brides  in  these  new 
frontier  towns.  But  alas  for  the  bright  and  happy 
days!  The  emigrant  pushed  by  these  growing  towns, 
and  soon,  too  soon,  the  posts  were  abandoned  and 
the  troops  marched  away  to  frontier  work  and  sterner 
duty  on  the  ever  changing  and  steadily  advancing 
border  line. 

The  Louisiana  purchase  from  France  in  1803  for 
the  sum  of  something  more  than  twelve  million  dol- 
lars was,  in  its  far-reaching  results,  the  most  im- 


THE  OLD  FRONTIER.  41 

portant  of  any  of  the  acts  of  President  Jefferson's  ad- 
ministration. It  includes  within  its  limits  the  States 
of  Louisiana,  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Minnesota,  North 
Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  Idaho,  Mon- 
tana, Washington,  Oregon,  the  greater  part  of  Wyo- 
ming and  Colorado,  and  part  of  Indian  Territory  and 
Oklahoma.  At  the  time  of  its  purchase  very  much 
of  the  country  within  its  limits  was  an  unknown  and 
unexplored  territory,  and  the  President  (Mr.  Jefferson) 
was  especially  anxious  that  a  fairly  accurate  knowledge 
of  it  should  he  obtained  at  the  earliest  practicable  mo- 
ment, particularly  of  the  Indian  tribes  that  inhabited  it, 
the  sources  of  the  great  rivers  that  drained  it,  the  ranges 
of  mountains  that  bisected  it,  and  its  possibilities  for 
future  development  as  an  agricultural  country.  Ac- 
cordingly, at  his  suggestion,  Congress  made  an  appro- 
priation of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  toward  an  outfit 
for  an  exploring  party,  and  Captain  Meriwether  Lewis 
and  Lieutenant  (afterward  General)  William  Clark  of 
the  United  States  army  were  designated  to  lead  it. 
Two  more  capable  or  conscientious  explorers  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  find.  Leaving  St.  Louis  May  14, 
1804,  they  started  up  the  Missouri  Eiver  with  a  party 
composed  of  fourteen  enlisted  men  of  the  army,  nine 
selected  and  duly  enrolled  civilians  from  Kentucky,  two 
French  boatmen,  an  Indian  interpreter,  and  Captain 
Clark's  coloured  servant,  who  were  all  engaged  for  the 
entire  time  it  might  require  to  complete  the  explora- 
tion, together  with  a  corporal  and  six  enlisted  men  of 
the  army  and  nine  boatmen  who  were  engaged  to  ac- 
company the  party  to  their  first  winter  camp,  which  it 
was  expected  would  be  with  the  Mandan  Indians.  They 
had  three  boats,  one  a  large  covered  barge  fifty-five  feet 


4:2  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  length,  but  the  other  two  were  open  boats  of  six  oars 
each  and  were  well  weighted  with  supplies  and  presents 
for  the  chiefs  of  the  various  Indian  tribes  along  their 
route,  with  whom  they  were  authorized  to  treat  and 
whose  friendship  our  Government  was  anxious  to  culti- 
vate. From  the  day  of  their  departure  during  all  of 
their  travels,  which  took  them  to  the  head  waters  of  the 
Missouri  Kiver,  thence  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
down  the  Columbia  River  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  they 
kept  copious  and  minute  daily  journals  of  their  travels, 
adventures,  and  treaties  with  the  various  Indian  tribes, 
together  with  maps  of  their  routes,  observations  of  the 
latitude  and  longitude  at  all  important  points,  habits, 
manners,  and  customs  of  the  Indians,  resources  of  the 
country,  and,  in  fact,  everything  of  interest  that  could 
help  one  to  form  an  accurate  idea  of  the  land  and  its  in- 
habitants, resources,  and  vast  extent.  The  party  was 
absent  nearly  two  years  and  a  half,  reaching  the  Pacific 
Ocean  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  November 
14,  1805,  near  where  they  passed  the  winter  of  1805-' 6 
at  a  place  they  named  Fort  Clatsop,  and  where  they 
were  nearly  starved  before  setting  out  on  the  return 
journey,  March  23,  1806,  during  which  they  had  to 
depend  principally  upon  hunting  for  their  subsist- 
ence, with  horse  and  dog  meat  as  a  part  of  their  diet. 
They  travelled  up  the  Columbia,  crossed  the  Bitter 
Root  Mountains,  explored  the  Marias  and  part  of  the 
Yellowstone  Rivers,  and  descended  the  Missouri  River 
to  St.  Louis,  arriving  there  on  the  23d  of  September, 
just  six  months  from  the  day  they  left  Fort  Clatsop. 
The  record  of  their  journey  is  as  fascinating  to  the 
student  of  to-day  as  it  was  to  the  public  when  first  pub- 
lished more  than  ninety  years  ago,  and  not  the  least 


ARMY  EXPLORERS.  43 

of  its  merits  is  the  fact  that  it  is  a  plain,  clearly  ex- 
pressed, and  truthful  statement  of  what  they  saw  and 
did  without  the  slightest  exaggeration  in  any  respect 
whatever. 

Next  in  importance  (judging  from  results)  as  an 
army  explorer  is  Lieutenant  Pike  (afterward  General) 
Zebulon  M.  Pike  of  the  United  States  army.  Lieuten- 
ant Pike  made  two  very  interesting  and  very  dangerous 
explorations  in  the  years  1805-1806  and  1807.  The 
first  one  from  St.  Louis,  August  9,  1805,  with  one  ser- 
geant, two  corporals,  and  seventeen  privates  of  the 
United  States  army  in  a  keel  boat  seventy  feet  long, 
carrying  provisions  for  four  months  for  the  party.  His 
instructions  in  a  general  way  were  the  same  as  those 
given  to  Captain  Lewis  and  Lieutenant  Clark,  only  that 
his  objective  point  was  the  source  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  He  was  authorized  to  make  treaties  with  the 
various  Indian  tribes  living  along  the  banks  of  the 
river,  purchase  from  the  Sioux  Indians  land  for  Gov- 
ernment occupation  for  a  military  post  at  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Croix  River,  and  generally  establish,  so  far  as 
he  could,  the  supremacy  of  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment over  the  authority  of  all  other  civilized  or  Euro- 
pean occupants.  All  this  he  accomplished  with  most 
consummate  tact  and  judgment,  reaching  Leech  Lake, 
which  was  then  the  supposed  source  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  on  February  1st.  He  then  retraced  his  course, 
arriving  safely  at  St.  Louis  after  an  absence  of  nearly 
nine  months.  His  journal,  maps,  and  meteorological 
observations  are  very  full  and  of  great  and  absorbing  in- 
terest. I  quote  two  or  three  pages  of  his  journal,  which 
commend  themselves  as  peculiarly  interesting  in  that 
they  show  in  what  way  the  French  and  English  traders 


4A  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIEK. 

impressed  the  Indians  as  to  the  character  of  the  new 
governors  of  the  soil  (i.  e.,  Americans). 

Lieutenant  Pike  writes  in  his  journal,  September  1, 
1805: 

"Dined  with  Mr.  D.,  who  informed  me  that  the 
Sioux  and  Sauteurs  were  as  warmly  engaged  in  opposi- 
tion as  ever;  that  not  long  since  the  former  killed  fif- 
teen Sauteurs,  who  on  the  10th  of  August,  in  return, 
killed  ten  Sioux,  at  the  entrance  of  the  St.  Peter's  (Min- 
nesota River);  and  that  a  war  party,  composed  of  Sacs, 
Reynards,  and  Paunts  (Winnebagoes),  of  two  hundred 
warriors,  had  embarked  on  an  expedition  against  the 
Sauteurs,  but  that  they  had  heard  that  the  chief,  hav- 
ing had  an  unfavourable  dream,  persuaded  the  party  to 
return,  and  that  I  would  meet  them  on  my  voyage." 

Fighting  came  naturally  to  the  whole  Sioux  nation, 
We  certainly  did  not  teach  them  the  art.  On  Septem- 
ber 3d  he  writes  as  follows : 

"In  the  course  of  the  day  we  landed  to  shoot 
pigeons.  The  moment  a  gun  was  fired  some  Indians, 
who  were  on  the  shore  above  us,  ran  down  and  put  off 
in  their  pirogues  with  great  precipitation;  upon  which 
Mr.  Blondeau  informed  me  that  all  the  women  and 
children  were  frightened  at  the  very  name  of  an  Ameri- 
can boat,  and  that  the  men  held  us  in  great  respect, 
conceiving  us  very  quarrelsome,  much  for  war,  and  also 
very  brave.  This  information  I  used  as  prudence  sug- 
gested." 

The  English  and  French  traders  evidently  gave  us 
a  good  send  off  with  the  savages. 
Again  on  September  3d  he  writes: 

"  They  kept  at  a  great  distance,  until  spoken  to  by 
Mr.  B.,  when  they  informed  him  that  their  party  had 


ARMY  EXPLORERS.  45 

proceeded  up  as  high  as  Lake  Pepin  without  effecting 
anything.  It  is  surprising  what  a  dread  the  Indians 
in  this  quarter  have  of  the  Americans.  I  have  often 
seen  them  go  round  islands  to  avoid  meeting  my  boat. 
It  appears  to  me  evident  that  the  traders  have  taken 
great  pains  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  savages 
the  idea  of  our  being  a  very  vindictive,  ferocious,  and 
warlike  people.  This  impression  was  perhaps  made 
with  no  good  intention;  but  when  they  find  that  our 
conduct  toward  them  is  guided  by  magnanimity  and 
justice,  instead  of  operating  in  an  injurious  manner,  it 
will  have  the  effect  to  make  them  reverence  at  the  same 
time  they  fear  us.  Distance  twenty-five  miles." 

The  following  is  such  a  delicious  bit  of  naivete  I  can 
not  help  quoting  it.  Fancy  killing  four  bears  in  one 
morning  and  only  incidentally  mentioning  it! 

"  October  17th.  It  continued  to  snow.  I  walked 
out  in  the  morning  and  killed  four  bears,  and  my  hunter 
three  deer.  Felled  our  trees  for  canoes  and  commenced 
working  on  them." 

He  started  on  his  second  trip  July  15,  1806,  up  the 
Missouri  River  and  through  what  is  now  Kansas  and 
Colorado  to  Pike's  Peak.  Thence  along  the  head  waters 
of  the  Arkansas  to  what  he  thought  the  head  waters 
of  the  Colorado,  but  unfortunately  he  made  a  serious 
error  and  established  himself  and  his  command  of 
twenty  men  on  the  upper  Rio  Grande  del  Norte,  and 
was  quietly  taken  in  by  the  Spanish  troops,  whose  ter- 
ritory (new  Spain)  he  had  entered.  He  was  sent  with 
several  of  his  men  to  the  headquarters  of  the  (Spanish) 
commanding  general  at  Presidio  Rio  Grande  and  thence 
taken  by  the  Spaniards  to  Natchitoches,  on  the  Red 
River,  in  Louisiana,  arriving  there  on  July  1,  1807.  His 


46  THE  STOEY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

journal  throughout  all  his  trip,  including  the  time  he 
was  a  quasi  prisoner  with  the  Spanish,  is  full  and  in- 
teresting, and  contains  much  that  is  well  worth  reading. 

Aside  from  the  interesting  journals  of  our  earliest 
explorers  among  army  men,  which  are  now  in  print, 
there  are  in  the  archives  of  the  War  Department  numer- 
ous unpublished  reports  of  both  officers  and  enlisted 
men  of  the  army  who  have,  from  time  to  time  since 
the  war  of  independence,  done  good  in  that  direction 
by  exploring  and  mapping  the  new  and  comparatively 
unknown  country  far  beyond  the  utmost  ripples  of  the 
advancing  tide  of  civilization,  and  especially  has  this 
been  the  case  in  certain  sections  of  the  southwest  by 
the  engineer  corps  of  the  army.  All  of  these  reports, 
however,  with  their  surveys,  maps,  and  other  data,  have 
been  carefully  gone  over  and  closely  scanned  by  the 
engineer  corps  and  utilized  to  their  fullest  extent  in 
preparing  the  military  maps  issued  by  authority  of  the 
War  Department,  and,  later  on,  all  this  information  has 
been  incorporated  by  the  various  map-publishing  houses 
of  our  country  in  their  new  issues.  If  the  risks  run, 
the  hardships  endured,  and  the  adventures  experienced 
by  the  various  large  and  small  exploring  and  mapping 
parties  had  been  carefully  recorded  and  could  be  put 
in  print  to-day,  the  narrative  would  rival  the  most  ex- 
citing novel  and  read  more  like  romance  than  history. 

One  particularly  brilliant  piece  of  work  was  that  of 
the  exploring  party  sent  out  from  the  military  post  of 
Fort  Ellis,  Montana,  in  our  own  day  under  Lieutenant 
Gustavus  C.  Doane,  of  the  Second  United  States  Cav- 
alry. Lieutenant  Doane  set  out  from  Fort  Ellis,  Aug- 
ust 21,  1870,  with  a  detachment  of  Company  F  of  his 
own  regiment,  consisting  of  one  sergeant  and  four  pri- 


ARMY  EXPLORERS.  47 

vates,  with  instructions  to  join  and  escort  General  H.  D. 
Washburne,  the  surveyor  general  of  Montana,  and  party 
to  the  falls  and  lakes  of  the  Yellowstone  and  return.  It 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  before  this  time  there  had 
been  several  exploring  parties  through  the  Yellowstone 
country,  and  some  most  excellent  and  elaborate  reports 
had  been  made  upon  certain  portions  of  this  compara- 
tively unknown  region.  It  remained,  however,  for  Lieu- 
tenant Doane  and  Surveyor-General  Washburne  to  find 
the  wonderland  that  old  trappers  said  was  occasionally 
alluded  to  with  bated  breath  and  superstitious  shudders 
by  old  Indians  who  had  been  driven  by  their  enemies 
into  this  upper  Yellowstone  country,  which  they  all 
seemed  to  dread.  I  quote  from  Lieutenant  Doane's 
journal,  August  29th: 

"  Through  the  mountain  gap  formed  by  the  canon 
and  on  the  interior  slopes  some  twenty  miles  distant 
an  object  now  appeared  which  drew  a  simultaneous  ex- 
pression of  wonder  from  every  one  in  the  party.  A 
column  of  steam,  rising  from  the  dense  woods  to  the 
height  of  several  hundred  feet,  became  distinctly  vis- 
ible. We  had  all  heard  fabulous  stories  of  this  region, 
and  were  somewhat  sceptical  of  appearances.  At  first 
it  was  pronounced  a  fire  in  the  woods,  but  presently 
some  one  noticed  that  the  vapour  rose  in  regular  puffs, 
as  if  expelled  with  a  great  force.  Then  conviction  was 
forced  upon  us.  It  was,  indeed,  a  great  column  of 
steam,  puffing  away  on  the  lofty  mountain  side,  escap- 
ing with  a  roaring  sound  audible  at  a  long  distance, 
even  through  the  heavy  forest.  A  hearty  cheer  rang 
out  at  this  discovery,  and  we  pressed  onward  with  re- 
newed enthusiasm." 

This  was  the  first  recorded  glimpse  ever  had  by  civ- 
ilized men  of  the  wonderful  geysers  of  the  Yellowstone, 


48  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

which  to-day  are,  in  some   things,  among  the  most 
attractive  and  admired  natural  curiosities  in  the  world. 

The  War  of  1812  with  Great  Britain  and  that  of 
1846  with  Mexico  can  not  consistently  he  ignored 
in  our  story  of  the  regular  soldier,  in  that  those 
two  periods  did  much  to  develop  the  army  and  to 
help  form  the  standard  for  bravery  and  devotion  to 
the  Government  that  the  regular  army  has  always 
maintained  in  times  of  stress  and  peril.  The  War 
of  1812  was,  to  say  the  best  for  our  side,  only  a 
drawn  game.  In  the  outcome  we  did  not  lose  territory 
and  eventually  held  our  own  on  land  and  something 
more  on  sea,  but  the  treaty  of  Ghent  gave  us  no  guar- 
antee that  England  would  forego  the  right  of  search 
for  British  sailors  in  our  vessels.  She  has  never  at- 
tempted it  since  this  war,  but  all  the  same  she  never  en- 
tered into  an  agreement  not  to  do  so,  and  if  she  should 
again  attempt  it  (not  that  she  is  at  all  likely  to)  we  could 
not  put  our  finger  on  any  treaty  clause  to  show  that 
she  was  violating  an  agreement.  And  yet  this  often 
repeated  right  of  search,  together  with  the  impressment 
of  those  who  claimed  to  be  our  seamen  under  it,  was 
the  actual  cause  of  the  war  between  the  two  nations. 
It  was  against  this  boldly  claimed  and  frequently  exer- 
cised right  of  search  and  impressment,  a  right  which 
we  emphatically  denied,  that  during  the  War  of  1812 
our  nation  was  contending,  and  while  the  final  result 
was  that  the  alleged  right  of  search  has  not  again  been 
attempted  nor  insisted  upon  by  the  English,  neverthe- 
less the  admission  that  Great  Britain  was  in  the  wrong 
and  the  agreement  not  to  again  attempt  such  a  thing 
was  never  wrung  from  the  British  Government.  To 


THE  WAR  OF  1812.  49 

quote  one  of  our  historians,  "  The  year  of  1812  brought 
nothing  but  disaster  to  the  land  forces  of  the  United 
States/'  and  the  careful  student  of  that  campaign  will 
have  to  admit  that  the  author  summed  up  the  result 
of  that  year's  work  (so  for  as  the  army  was  concerned) 
briefly,  concisely,  and  truly. 

The  reverses  that  our  arms  sustained  in  the  war  with 
Great  Britain,  1812  to  1814,  growing  out  of  our  need  of 
properly  drilled  and  disciplined  troops,  is  a  chapter  of 
the  early  history  of  our  country  that  the  popular 
writers  of  that  day  have  so  carefully  glossed  over,  that 
the  average  American  citizen  has  no  accurate  idea  of 
how  much  the  people  on  our  northern  border  suffered, 
nor  how  often  our  flag  was  trailed  in  the  dust,  owing  not 
infrequently  to  the  incompetence  of  our  officers  as  well 
as  the  fact  that  our  militia  and  volunteers  were  not  only 
poorly  equipped,  but  for  the  first  eighteen  months  of 
the  war  knew  so  little  of  drill  and  discipline  that  they 
could  not  stand  against  the  better  organized  and  well- 
drilled  English  regulars  whom  they  were  obliged  to 
face,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  they  were,  as  was 
shown  later  on  in  the  war,  both  brave  in  person  and 
fertile  in  resource,  and  to  be  safely  relied  upon  to  hold 
their  own  against  equal  numbers  after  they  had  been 
properly  trained  and  disciplined.  But  long  before  this 
latter  state  of  things  had  been  reached  we  had  many  a 
defeat  to  our  discredit  and  had  needlessly  sacrificed 
many  valuable  lives  to  enable  us  to  build  up  our  army, 
and  attain  a  proficiency  in  military  affairs  that  with 
proper  foresight  could  have  easily  been  had  with  no 
loss  of  life  and  comparatively  little  expenditure  of 
treasure. 

The  surrender  of  our  General  Hull  to  the  British 


50  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

General  Brock  at  Detroit  was  an  act  of  senile  inca- 
pacity, not  to  say  of  downright  cowardice,  on  the  part 
of  the  American  general  for  which  it  is  impossible  to 
find  an  excuse.  Hull  surrendered  a  fortified  position, 
thirty-three  pieces  of  artillery,  and  twenty-six  hundred 
men  with  their  arms  and  equipments  to  a  force  of 
little  more  than  thirteen  hundred  men  composed  of 
about  seven  hundred  British  regulars  and  six  hundred 
Indian  allies;  on  the  second  demand  for  his  surrender 
by  the  British  general,  and  this,  too,  without  firing 
a  shot,  on  the  threat  of  the  British  commander  that 
if  resistance  was  offered  he  would  authorize  his  In- 
dian allies  to  "  massacre  the  inhabitants  of  the  town 
of  Detroit  as  well  as  all  of  Hull's  forces."  The  bat- 
tle of  Queenstown  on  the  Niagara  Eiver  frontier  was 
probably  lost  because  the  New  York  State  militia 
would  not  leave  their  State  and  cross  the  river  into 
Canada  to  aid  their  compatriots  on  the  opposite  bank, 
who  in  plain  sight  and  sound  were  gallantly  and  bravely 
fighting  a  force  greatly  their  superiors  in  drill,  disci- 
pline, and  numbers.  The  American  General  Wilkin- 
son's expedition  against  Montreal  in  1813,  numbering 
with  General  Hampton's  command  over  twelve  thou- 
sand men,  was  a  complete  fiasco.  Both  he  and  General 
Hampton  were  completely  outgeneralled  by  an  inferior 
force  of  the  enemy,  and  fell  back  to  the  New  York 
frontier  without  accomplishing  anything.  The  capture 
and  burning  of  the  Capitol  at  Washington  by  the  Brit- 
ish General  Ross  at  the  head  of  four  thousand  English 
soldiers  and  sailors,  when,  as  a  carefully  compiled  re- 
port of  a  congressional  committee  shows,  the  Ameri- 
can General  Winder  had  six  thousand  men,  principally 
militia,  with  which  to  defend  the  city,  is  simply  incom- 


THE  WAR  OF  1812.  51 

prehensible.  Whole  volumes  have  been  written  to  ex- 
plain how  it  happened,  but  the  fact  remains  to  our 
lasting  discredit  that  it  did  happen  with  a  loss  to  us,  at 
Bladensburg,  of  twenty-six  killed  and  fifty-one  wounded, 
or  not  quite  one  and  three  tenths  per  cent  of  our  troops, 
while  the  official  report  of  General  Eoss  shows  his  loss 
to  have  been  only  fifty-six  killed  and  eighty-five 
Avounded.  On  the  Niagara  frontier  during  the  early 
winter  of  1813  and  1814  the  British  forces  crossed  the 
river  into  the  State  of  New  York  and  harried  and 
burned  that  whole  section  of  country,  including  Buf- 
falo, Niagara  Falls  (then  called  Manchester),  Tuscarora, 
Lewiston,  and  Youngstown.  .  Of  course,  later  on,  these 
things  were  somewhat  evened  up,  but  all  the  same  it 
was  gruesome  work  for  those  of  our  people  who  lived  on 
the  Canadian  frontier. 

In  the  Southwest,  though,  things  were  different. 
General  Andrew  Jackson,  while  at  Mobile  in  the 
month  of  December,  1814,  became  convinced  that  the 
British  Government  had  determined  to  send  an  ex- 
pedition to  capture  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  and 
without  the  least  hesitation  started  across  the  wil- 
derness on  horseback  for  that  place.  Arriving  there 
on  December  2d,  he  threw  himself  with  resistless  force 
and  tireless  energy  into  putting  the  city  in  shape  for 
defence.  He  called  out  the  Louisiana  militia,  ap- 
pealed to  the  free  negroes  for  help,  accepted  the 
services  of  the  freebooter  Lafitte  and  his  men,  assigning 
them  to  duty  as  artillerists,  released  and  enrolled  con- 
victs whose  term  of  detention  was  near  its  expiration, 
ordered  Colonel  Coffee  with  two  thousand  men  to  hurry 
to  join  him  from  Mobile,  proceeded  to  fortify  the  city, 
and  declared  martial  law.  December  10th  the  British 


52  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

fleet  entered  Lake  Borgne,  defeating  and  capturing  the 
American  gunboats,  and  on  December  23d  twenty-four 
hundred  British  troops  landed  on  the  bank  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River,  nine  miles  below  New  Orleans.  With- 
out a  moment's  hesitation  General  Jackson  went  down 
to  meet  them  with  a  force  of  twenty-one  hundred  poorly 
armed  and  ill-equipped  men.  He  came  up  to  and  boldly 
attacked  them  just  at  nightfall,  and  a  bloody,  hand-to- 
hand  action  ensued  which,  strange  to  say,  was  fought 
out  by  moonlight. 

After  three  hours'  fighting  our  troops  fell  back. 
Our  loss  was  twenty-four  killed,  one  hundred  and  fif- 
teen wounded,  and  seventy-four  missing.  The  British 
loss  (official)  was  forty-seven  killed,  one  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  wounded,  and  sixty-four  missing.  Heavy 
re-enforcements  of  the  British  troops  under  General  Sir 
Edward  Pakenham  and  General  Samuel  Gibbs — both 
able  and  accomplished  officers — arrived  on  the  field 
within  a  day  or  two.  Pakenham  brought  up  some 
heavy  ordnance  and  a  furnace  in  which  to  heat  his  shot, 
and  drove  away  two  of  our  gunboats,  the  Louisiana 
and  Carolina,  which  were  annoying  his  forces.  The 
Carolina  was  set  on  fire  and  abandoned,  and  when  the 
fire  reached  her  magazine  she  blew  up.  After  consid- 
erable sparring  between  the  opposing  forces  the  British 
general  resolved  on  a  regular  siege  and  brought  up 
thirty  guns,  and  during  the  night  mounted  them  in 
bastions  built  of  hogsheads  of  sugar,  opening  on  the 
fortifications  of  our  forces  at  daylight.  The  sugar  hogs- 
heads were  very  vulnerable  to  our  artillery,  however, 
and  soon  crumbled  away.  Jackson  also  found  the  cotton 
bales  with  which  he  had  filled  in  his  own  field  fortifica- 
tions easily  set  on  fire,  so  he  at  once  proceeded  to  con- 


THE  WAR  OF  1812.  53 

struct  a  second  line  of  earthworks  a  mile  and  a  half  in 
his  rear.  In  the  artillery  action  between  the  two  forti- 
fications the  enemy's  works  were  almost  destroyed,  and 
they  lost  seventy  men  killed.  Our  works  were  hadly 
shattered  also,  and  our  loss  was  thirty-four  killed. 

The  ensuing  week  Jackson  was  re-enforced  by  three 
thousand  Kentucky  and  Louisiana  militia,  but  they 
had  scarcely  a  firelock  among  them.  The  British  were 
re-enforced  by  two  regiments  under  General  John  Lam- 
bert. General  Pakenham  ordered  a  general  attack  on 
January  8th.  His  heaviest  column,  three  thousand 
strong,  led  by  General  Gibbs,  attacked  our  extreme  left. 
It  was  supported  by  one  thousand  Highlanders  under 
General  Keane.  The  other  column  attacked  our  right. 
It  was  a  splendid  assault  and  gallantly  delivered,  for  at 
that  time  there  were  no  better  troops  in  the  world  than 
those  under  Pakenham,  who  had  formed  part  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington's  army  in  the  Peninsula,  but  lying 
quietly  and  coolly  behind  our  breastworks  were  nearly 
two  thousand  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  riflemen,  serv- 
ing immediately  under  the  eye  of  General  Andrew  Jack- 
son and  General  Coffee.  The  British  column  as  it  came 
gallantly  on  was  simply  mowed  down.  That  is  all  there 
is  to  say  of  the  fight.  The  Highlanders  went  into  the 
battle  nine  hundred  strong;  they  came  out  with  one 
hundred  and  forty.  The  action  was  over  in  twenty-five 
minutes.  General  Pakenham  was  killed,  General 
Gibbs  mortally  wounded,  General  Keane  severely 
wounded.  Colonel  Dale,  of  the  Highlanders,  fell  at 
the  head  of  his  regiment.  Seven  hundred  of  the  enemy 
were  killed,  fourteen  hundred  wounded,  and  five  hun- 
dred were  made  prisoners.  Our  losses  were  four  killed 
and  thirteen  wounded.  In  the  whole  campaign  we  lost 


54:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

three  hundred  and  thirty-three.  The  British  forces 
under  Colonel  Thornton,  on  the  western  bank  of  the 
river,  carried  the  American  works  against  our  militia, 
and  he  was  in  full  pursuit  when  the  news  of  the  defeat 
of  the  British  army  compelled  him  to  fall  hack.  He 
lost  one  hundred  killed  and  wounded;  our  loss  was  six 
killed.  The  9th  was  spent  under  an  armistice  to  hury 
the  dead  and  care  for  the  wounded.  General  Lambert 
withdrew  the  remnant  of  the  British  forces  to  his  ship- 
ping and  abandoned  the  siege.  When  one  considers 
what  General  Andrew  Jackson  accomplished  at  New 
Orleans  with  less  than  one  quarter  the  resources  that 
General  Winder  had  at  his  command  in  Washington 
one  marvels  at  the  difference  between  men.  The  treaty 
of  peace  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
was  signed  at  Ghent,  December  14,  1814;  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans  was  fought  January  8,  1815.  As  far  as 
the  final  results  of  the  war  were  concerned  it  did  us  no 
good  whatever.  It  was  only  another  instance  of  the 
"irony  of  fate/'  During  this  war  the  regulars  of  our 
army,  small  as  were  their  numbers,  did  good  work 
everywhere.  The  list  of  killed  and  wounded,  though, 
is  the  only  record.  The  militia  and  volunteers  got  most 
of  the  credit — splendid  men  some  of  them  were,  too — 
but  they  had  ever  and  always  the  advantage  of  loving 
friends  and  "  a  local  habitation  and  a  name/' 

The  war  with  Mexico,  occurring  as  it  did  in  1846, 
was  most  fortunate  for  us  in  one  thing  at  least:  Those 
of  the  younger  officers  of  the  regular  army  who  had 
seen  much  active  service  in  1812  and  1815  were  just  at 
the  ripe  age  of  between  fifty  and  sixty  when  the  cam- 
paign opened,  and  as  they  had  seen  a  great  deal  of 
frontier  service  during  the  intervening  twenty  odd 


THE  WAR  WITH  MEXICO.  55 

years  they  were  especially  well  fitted  to  take  the  field, 
and  as  nearly  all  of  the  divisions  and  brigades  were 
placed  under  the  command  of  officers  of  the  regular 
army  very  few  mistakes  were  made.  In  fact,  few  his- 
torical campaigns  are  so  free  from  errors  or  blunders 
as  this  one.  The  two  leaders  on  our  side,  General  Zach- 
ary  Taylor  and  General  Winfield  Scott,  were  both  offi- 
cers of  the  regular  army,  fine  soldiers,  and  very  able 
men,  of  large  experience  and  sound  judgment.  From 
the  opening  action  of  the  war,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Eio  Grande,  April  25,  1846,  until  its  close,  by  the  cap- 
ture of  the  city  of  Mexico  on  September  14,  1847,  in- 
cluding within  those  dates  two  sieges,  eight  battles,  and 
a  number  of  minor  engagements,  we  were  only  worsted 
in  two  or  three  small  affairs,  and  our  advance,  once  it 
had  begun,  was  rarely  checked  for  any  great  length 
of  time.  Both  Generals  Taylor  and  Scott  handled  their 
troops  with  signal  ability,  and  the  splendid  schooling 
of  West  Point  as  exhibited  in  the  conduct  of  the  junior 
officers  found  its  recognition  in  the  unstinted  praise  of 
both  the  regular  and  volunteer  officers  who  at  that  time 
held  high  rank  and  command  in  our  armies.  Out  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  officers  killed  in  this  cam- 
paign, seventy-nine  were  regulars  and  forty-nine  vol- 
unteers, and  out  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  offi- 
cers wounded,  more  than  half  were  of  the  regular  army. 
Naturally  enough  the  volunteers  were  highly 
lauded  and  greatly  praised  by  the  citizens  of  the  vari- 
ous States  from  which  they  volunteered,  and  they  were 
fully  entitled  to  all  the  honours  they  were  given,  for, 
with  very  few  exceptions,  they  behaved  splendidly  and 
won  well-deserved  plaudits;  but  it  was  not  until  the  rec- 
ord was  made  up  at  the  close  of  the  war  that  the  regular 


56  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

army  came  in  for  its  deserved  share  of  recognition,  and 
this  was  natural  enough,  too,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the 
regular  army  has  comparatively  no  local  ties,  from  the 
very  nature  of  the  service,  as  its  men  are  recruited  at 
large  from  the  whole  country  and  its  officers  are  ap- 
pointed to  the  Military  Academy  (on  an  average)  once 
in  every  three  years  from  each  congressional  district. 
The  cadet  then  remains  a  student  at  the  academy  four 
years,  with  only  one  vacation  in  which  to  visit  his  home 
during  that  period  of  instruction,  and  afterward  being 
sent  out  to  the  frontier,  he  soon  loses  touch  with  his 
boyhood  companions,  and,  with  the  exception  of  his 
immediate  family,  is  practically  forgotten.  The  volun- 
teer (or  each  company  in  a  volunteer  regiment)  is  gen- 
erally recruited  from  some  one  county  or  township,  and 
the  local  interest  and  pride  in  them  is  intense.  Every 
movement  of  the  regiment  to  which  they  belong  is 
closely  watched  by  the  whole  home  community,  every 
bit  of  information  regarding  them  is  eagerly  caught  up, 
discussed,  repeated,  and  eventually  published  in  the 
local  newspaper.  Not  infrequently  the  county  or  vil- 
lage newspaper  will  have  at  least  one  correspondent  in 
their  local  company  who  writes  constantly,  sending  de- 
tailed accounts  of  the  campaign  and  all  sorts  of  per- 
sonal information  regarding  the  officers  and  privates  of 
the  regiment.  Then,  too,  the  duties,  experiences,  and 
discipline  being  new  and  of  interest  to  the  writer,  he 
tells  his  story  graphically  and  well;  and  if  he  is  in  a 
strange  country  all  the  better,  as  he  can  give  his  first 
impressions,  which  rarely  fail  to  be  of  interest  to  the 
home  people.  But  this  is  not  the  case  with  the  regulars. 
The  men  have  been  recruited  from  the  East,  West, 
North,  and  South.  Soldiers  by  profession,  they  have 


REGULARS  AND  VOLUNTEERS.       5? 

no  precise  locality  that  is  interested  in  them.  Accus- 
tomed to  the  routine  of  drill,  discipline,  and  guard  duty 
and  to  taking  care  of  themselves,  camp  life  is  no  novelty 
whatever.  Certainly  if  one  of  them  wrote  a  letter 
home  the  last  thing  in  the  world  that  would  occur  to 
him  would  be  that  there  was  anything  interesting  to  an 
outsider  in  the  round  of  his  daily  life.  After  a  sharp 
action  or  battle  he  will  discuss  the  details  with  the  men 
of  his  squad — perhaps  with  the  members  of  his  com- 
pany for  a  day  or  two — then  it  is  history,  and  he  stores 
it  up  in  his  memory  to  amplify  on  some  winter's  night 
in  barracks — if  he  lives  to  get  there.  He  sometimes 
wonders  if  he  will  get  back  to  the  barracks!  Well,  if  he 

does,  it  will  be  a  good  story.    If  he  does  not 

In  glancing  over  some  of  the  histories  of  the  Mexi- 
can War  I  find  nearly  all  of  them,  generally  on  the  last 
page,  pay  tribute  to  the  regulars.  I  quote  from  one  of 
them:  "  The  proportion  of  loss  among  the  different  arms 
of  service — the  old  and  new  regulars  and  volunteers — 
is  an  interesting  object  of  inquiry.  The  reader  by  run- 
ning his  eye  over  the  columns  will  readily  ascertain  any 
fact  of  this  sort  he  may  wish  to  know.  The  general  re- 
sult is  that  much  the  heaviest  proportional  loss  fell  on 
the  regulars  of  the  old  regiments.  One  great  reason  of 
this  is  that  they  were  more  continually  and  actively 
employed  in  the  whole  series  of  engagements  in  Mex- 
ico than  any  other  class  of  troops." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SOME  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  AEMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER 
FROM  1846  TO    I860. 

SCARCELY  had  General  Taylor  invaded  Mexico  on 
the  lower  Rio  Grande  when  our  regular  troops  then 
stationed  on  our  Western  frontier  were  at  once  thrown 
forward  toward  the  town  of  Santa  Fe,  in  Mexico,  with 
an  ulterior  idea  of  reaching  California  and  the  Pacific 
coast,  if  possible,  by  an  overland  march  across  an  almost 
unknown  country.  Colonel  Kearny  of  the  First 
United  States  Dragoons  set  out  from  Fort  Leaven- 
worth,  Kansas,  with  about  seventeen  hundred  men,  con- 
sisting of  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  six  troops  of  dragoons, 
two  light  batteries,  and  two  companies  of  infantry.  It 
was  promised  that  a  regiment  or  two  of  volunteers 
should  soon  follow  him.  He  was  a  soldier  of  pluck, 
dash,  and  energy,  and  the  paucity  of  his  force  for  the 
subjugation  of  what  was  then  northwestern  Mexico, 
occupied  and  garrisoned  by  Mexican  troops,  seems  never 
to  have  given  him  a  moment's  doubt  or  caused  him  the 
slightest  hesitation. 

He  pushed  on  by  forced  marches  to  Santa  Fe,  then 

the  leading  city  of  that  part  of  the  country,  capturing 

the  little  towns  en  route,  boldly  seizing  the  country  in 

the  name  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 

58 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.   59 

swearing  in  the  alcaldes  (willy  nilly)  as  officials  of  this 
new  American  Territorial  government,  as  he  unhesitat- 
ingly proclaimed  it  to  be,  and  reached  Santa  Fe  on 
August  18th,  the  garrison  fleeing  at  his  approach.  He 
was  now  eight  hundred  miles  from  his  base,  his  line  of 
communication  was  utterly  unprotected,  and  he  had  no 
supplies,  nor  money  to  purchase  any.  The  Mexicans, 
though  half  stunned  by  the  suddenness  of  the  change 
he  had  wrought  and  inert  in  their  usually  placid  way, 
were,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  surly  and  dissatisfied,  and, 
as  the  outcome  eventually  developed,  not  at  all  in 
love  with  the  new  order  of  things  and  quite  willing 
to  aid  any  one  with  pluck  enough  to  try  conclusions 
with  the  Americans.  Our  troops  were  already  on  less 
than  half  rations  (they  received  but  nine  ounces  of 
ground  wheat  per  day  and  no  sugar  nor  coffee),  and 
already  scurvy  had  attacked  the  command.  Neither  was 
there  any  money  with  which  to  pay  the  men.  The 
outlook  was  certainly  not  encouraging,  nor  particularly 
brilliant;  but  no  one  complained,  hesitated,  or  looked 
back. 

On  September  5th  Governor  (Colonel)  Kearny  is- 
sued his  proclamation  to  hold  the  department  with  its 
original  boundaries  (on  both  sides  of  the  Rio  Grande 
del  Norte)  as  a  part  of  the  United  States,  and  under 
the  name  of  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico.  But  Colonel 
Kearny  was  even  then  looking  for  new  worlds  to  con- 
quer, and  already  had  his  eye  on  California  and  the 
Pacific  coast — a  good  thousand  miles  away,  without  the 
shadow  of  a  wagon  road  leading  to  it,  and  not  even  a 
well-defined  trail  to  travel  over,  and  the  way  barred  by 
rugged  mountains,  arid  deserts,  and  savage  and  warlike 
Indians,  with  a  hostile  Mexican  population  probably 


60  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIEK. 

by  this  time  well  prepared  to  meet  him  at  the  end  of 
his  proposed  journey.  It  took  more  than  this,  however, 
to  daunt  the  bold  dragoon,  so  on  September  26th  he 
rode  away  from  Santa  Fe  with  "  three  hundred  wilder- 
ness worn  dragoons,  in  shabby  and  patched  clothing, 
who  had  long  been  on  short  allowance  of  food/7  boldly 
heading  for  the  far-off  waters  of  the  blue  Pacific.  On 
October  6th  the  command  met  the  famous  scout  Kit 
Carson,  with  fifteen  men  en  route  from  California  with 
an  express  mail  for  Washington,  with  the  startling  and 
glorious  news  that  Commodore  Stockton  and  Captain 
Fremont  had  revolutionized  and  seized  California  for 
the  United  States.  Colonel  Kearny  sent  forward  the 
mail,  and  then,  taking  Carson  with  him,  Kearny,  with 
only  two  small  troops  of  dragoons,  left  the  rest  of  his 
command  there,  under  command  of  Major  Sumner, 
who  was  ordered  to  remain  in  the  Territory  of  New 
Mexico,  while  he  pushed  on  as  rapidly  as  possible  for 
California. 

Just  as  Colonel  Kearny  left  his  main  command 
for  his  hurried  march  to  California  he  ordered  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel P.  St.  George  Cooke  to  go  back  to  Santa 
Fe  and  take  command  of  a  new  volunteer  organization, 
"  the  Mormon  battalion,"  soon  to  arrive,  and  to  open  a 
wagon  road  to  California.  On  their  arrival  at  Santa 
Fe  Colonel  Cooke  assumed  command.  Let  us  see 
what  sort  of  a  volunteer  regiment  this  was.  It  was 
enlisted  too  much  by  families;  some  were  too  old,  some 
feeble,  some  too  young;  it  was  embarrassed  by  many 
women;  it  was  undisciplined;  it  was  much  worn  by 
travelling  on  foot;  their  clothing  was  very  scant;  there 
was  no  money  to  pay  them  or  clothing  to  issue;  their 
mules  were  utterly  broken  down;  the  quartermaster's 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.   61 

department  was  without  funds  and  its  credit  bad,  and, 
moreover,  mules  were  scarce.  Those  procured  were 
very  inferior  and  were  deteriorating  every  hour  for 
lack  of  forage  and  grazing;  so  every  preparation  must 
be  pushed.  There  could  scarcely  have  been  a  worse 
outlook,  but  Colonel  Cooke  was  probably  as  good  a 
man  as  could  have  been  found  for  the  command.  Pa- 
tient, painstaking,  an  incessant  worker,  plucky  and 
persevering,  he  took  this  battalion,  after  the  women 
and  older  men  had  been  weeded  out,  through  to 
California.  His  journal  is  fascinating  in  its  simplicity, 
pathetic  in  its  casual  mention  of  the  most  trying  hard- 
ships. I  quote:  "January  14th.  Besides  being  nearly 
starved  our  mules  have  had  no  water  since  yesterday 
morning.  .  .  .  January  16th.  I  found  the  march  to  be 
nineteen  miles.  .  .  .  Without  water  for  near  three  days 
for  the  working  animals,  camping  two  nights  in  succes- 
sion without  water,  .  .  .  the  battalion  nfade  in  forty- 
eight  hours  four  marches — eighteen,  eight,  eleven,  and 
nineteen  miles.  A  great  many  of  my  men  are  wholly 
without  shoes  and  use  every  expedient,  such  as  rawhide 
moccasins  and  sandals  and  even  wrapping  their  feet 
in  pieces  of  woolen  and  cotton  cloth.  .  .  .  January  19th. 
I  came  to  the  canon  and  found  it  much  worse  than 
I  had  been  led  to  expect  .  .  .  the  worst  was  the  narrow 
pass.  Setting  the  example  myself,  there  was  much 
work  done  in  it  before  the  wagons  came.  The  rock  was 
hewn  with  axes  to  increase  the  opening.  It  was  found 
too  narrow  by  a  foot  of  solid  rock,  and  it  was  seven 
miles  to  the  first  water.  I  had  a  wagon  taken  to  pieces 
and  carried  through.  The  sun  was  only  an  hour  high. 
Meanwhile  we  still  hewed  and  hammered  at  the  moun- 
tain side.  The  work  on  the  pass  was  perseveringly  con- 


62  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

tinued,  and  the  last  two  wagons  were  pulled  through 
by  the  mules  with  the  loads  undisturbed.'  How  well 
the  two  following  remarks  speak  for  discipline!  Janu- 
ary 20th.  The  battalion  during  the  march  was  exercised 
on  a  prairie  waiting  for  the  wagons  to  come  up.  .  .  . 
January  21st.  I  descended  rapidly  to  the  lower  slopes, 
and  there  drilled  my  battalion  again  while  the  baggage 
closed  up/'  There  they  were,  tired,  worn,  ragged, 
barefoot,  and  half  starved,  and  two  thousand  miles  from 
home,  but  discipline  and  training  told,  as  it  always 
does  tell  in  the  end,  and  the  plucky  little  Mormon 
battalion  was  ready  to  give  a  good  account  of  itself  if 
the  Spanish  Californians  had  attacked  it,  as  there  was 
some  expectation  they  might  do.  I  quote  herewith 
verbatim  part  of  the  congratulatory  order  issued  by  Col- 
onel Cooke  to  his  battalion: 

"HEADQUARTERS  MORMON  BATTALION, 
"MISSION  OF  SAN  DIEGO,  January  30,  1847. 
"ORDERS  No.  1. 

"  The  lieutenant  colonel  commanding  congratulates 
the  battalion  on  their  safe  arrival  on  the  shore  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  the  conclusion  of  their  march  of 
over  two  thousand  miles.  History  may  be  searched  in 
vain  for  an  equal  march  of  infantry.  Half  of  it  has 
been  through  a  wilderness  where  nothing  but  savages 
and  wild  beasts  are  found  or  deserts  where,  for  want  of 
water,  there  is  no  living  creature.  There,  with  almost 
hopeless  labour,  we  have  dug  deep  wells,  which  the 
future  traveller  will  enjoy.  Without  a  guide  who  had 
traversed  them  we  have  ventured  into  trackless  table- 
lands where  water  was  not  found  for  several  marches. 
With  crowbar  and  pick  and  axe  in  hand  we  have  worked 
our  way  over  mountains  which  seemed  to  defy  aught 
save  the  wild  goat  and  hewed  a  passage  through  a 


The  march  of  Cooke's  command. 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.       63 

chasm  of  living  rock  more  narrow  than  our  wagons.  To 
bring  these  first  wagons  to  the  Pacific  we  have  pre- 
served the  strength  of  our  mules  hy  herding  them  over 
large  tracts,  which  you  have  laboriously  guarded  with- 
out loss.  The  garrison  of  four  presidios  of  Sonora  con- 
centrated within  the  walls  of  Tucson  gave  us  no  pause. 
We  drove  them  out  with  artillery,  but  our  intercourse 
with  the  citizens  was  unmarked  by  a  single  act  of  injus- 
tice. Thus,  marching  half  naked  and  half  fed,  and 
living  upon  wild  animals,  we  have  discovered  and  made 
a  road  of  great  value  to  our  country." 

These  men  certainly  deserved  all  the  praise  their 
commander  gave  them.  The  close  of  the  war  with  Mex- 
ico gave  the  United  States,  in  conformity  with  provi- 
sions of  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  an  immense 
section  of  country,  which  has  since  been  divided  into  the 
States  of  California,  Utah,  Nevada,  a  portion  of  Colo- 
rado, and  a  large  part  of  the  Territories  of  Arizona  and 
New  Mexico,  and  in  addition  thereto  the  treaty  also 
abrogated  the  claim  of  Mexico  to  the  State  of  Texas, 
which  had  been  admitted  into  the  Union  in  1845. 

The  discovery  of  gold  in  California  in  1847  did 
more  to  Americanize  it  within  two  years  than  all  the 
other  splendid  natural  advantages  and  resources  of  the 
country  would  have  accomplished  in  a  generation  of 
ordinary  emigration.  From  an  almost  unknown  Span- 
ish grazing  country  on  the  far-off  West  Pacific  coast, 
California  sprung  into  existence  as  one  of  the  States 
of  the  Union  within  less  than  three  years  after  the 
close  of  the  Mexican  War. 

Already  farseeing  men  of  the  Pacific  coast  began  to 
prognosticate  the  brilliant  future  in  store  for  the  coun- 
try, and  the  British  Lion,  ever  alert  where  land  is  to 


64  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

be  obtained  by  seizure,  sought  to  place  its  paw  on  a 
part  of  the  coast  of  Oregon  that  within  its  trend  in- 
cluded landlocked  bays  that  in  the  years  to  come  might 
develop  into  ports  of  prominence.  The  excitement  that 
followed  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  set  many 
of  the  enlisted  men  of  the  regular  army  half  crazy. 
Desertions  for  the  mines  were  so  numerous  that  in  more 
that  one  instance  company  officers  found  themselves 
without  troops.  It  was  impossible  to  prevent  the  men 
from  getting  away.  It  was  for  the  time  being  a  mania, 
and  had  to  run  its  course.  Odd  tales  are  told  of  some 
of  the  cavalry  officers  in  San  Francisco  and  Sacra- 
ento,  Cal.,  being  compelled  for  a  few  months  to  utilize 
their  private  horses  as  cart  horses,  driving  themselves 
to  earn  a  subsistence  until  Government  supplies  and 
funds  should  come  out  by  vessels  sailing  around  Cape 
Horn,  and  once  more  a  normal  condition  of  affairs 
was  slowly  able  to  reassert  itself. 

It  took  only  a  few  years,  however,  for  military 
affairs  to  straighten  out.  California  and  Oregon  were 
dotted  with  army  posts  to  protect  the  rushing  tide  of 
gold  hunters  coming  overland  from  the  States  and  keep 
in  order  the  roving  bands  of  Indians  who  threatened 
the  early  settlers  in  northern  California  and  Oregon. 
During  the  ten  years  following  the  close  of  the  Mexican 
War  the  rapid  settlement  of  California  and  Oregon  by 
the  Americans  developed  much  acrimony  between  the 
English  residents  of  Oregon,  especially  among  the  em- 
ployees of  the  Hudson  Bay  Fur  Company  and  our  own 
people,  owing  to  the  fact  that,  as  usual,  the  English 
claimed  everything  in  sight  on  that  coast  that  was  as 
yet  unoccupied  by  Americans,  and  much  of  the  terri- 
tory that  they  claimed  was  based  solely  on  an  assump- 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.       65 

tion  of  authority.  There  was  one  episode,  however,  on 
the  northwestern  Pacific  coast  well  worth  recalling: 
San  Juan  Island,  on  the  coast  of  Washington,  is  about 
fifteen  miles  long  by  seven  or  eight  broad,  and  is  well 
timbered  and  watered  and  fairly  fertile.  The  great 
Hudson  Bay  Fur  Company  asserted  a  proprietary  right 
to  it  and  held  that  it  was  within  the  jurisdiction  of 
Great  Britain.  At  the  same  time  a  few  American 
farmers  and  small  merchants,  twenty-five  in  all,  who 
had  "  squatted  "  on  it,  claimed  that  it  belonged  to  the 
United  States.  It  will  be  seen  that  here  was  a  fruit- 
ful source  of  contention,  and  matters  did  not  progress 
smoothly  on  San  Juan.  Disagreements  arose  over  the 
most  trifling  things,  and  trouble  followed.  The  Hudson 
Bay  people  were  arrogant  and  the  Americans  were  re- 
sentful. One  spring  morning  in  1859  Mr.  L.  E.  Cutter 
found  a  pig  belonging  to  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
rooting  in  his  cornfield  and  shot  it.  Afterward  he 
went  to  the  local  agent  and  offered  to  pay  him  the  value 
of  the  animal.  His  offer  was  refused,  and  the  superin- 
tendent, a  Mr.  Dallas,  at  Victoria,  on  Vancouver  Is- 
land, at  once  repaired  to  San  Juan  and  threatened  to 
arrest  Cutter  and  take  him  to  Victoria  for  trial  by 
British  law.  Cutter  promptly  seized  his  rifle  and  told 
Mr.  Dallas  that  if  he  took  one  step  toward  arresting 
him  he  would  shoot  him.  Mr.  Dallas  returned  to  Vic- 
toria. The  citizens  of  the  United  States  resident  on 
the  island  forwarded  to  the  commander  of  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Columbia  at  Fort  Vancouver,  Oregon,  a 
communication  in  which,  after  reciting  all  their  griev- 
ances, Mr.  Dallas's  threat  included,  they  called  on  their 
Government  for  protection.  The  department  com- 
mander, Brigadier-General  W.  S.  Harney,  a  famous 


66  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

fighter  and  typical  officer  of  "  the  old  army,"  likewise 
a  man  of  action,  was  the  very  one  to  have  received  such 
a  document.  The  high-handed  action  of  the  British 
authorities  on  Vancouver  Island  fired  his  patriotism, 
and,  without  waiting  to  consult  with  his  superiors,  he 
ordered  a  company  of  infantry  to  proceed  to  San  Juan 
Island  and  establish  a  camp  there  in  order,  first,  to 
protect  the  inhabitants  from  the  depredations  of  the 
northern  Indians,  who  had  been  troubling  them.  Sec- 
ond, "to  afford  adequate  protection  to  the  American 
citizens  in  their  rights  as  such.  Third,  to  resist  all  at- 
tempts at  interference  by  means  of  force  or  intimida- 
tion in  the  controversies  of  the  above-mentioned  par- 
ties by  the  British  authorities  residing  on  Vancouver 
Island." 

Thus  it  came  about  that  on  July  27,  1859,  Company 
D,  Ninth  Infantry,  Captain  George  E.  Pickett  in  com- 
mand, landed  on  San  Juan  Island  amid  the  cheers  of 
the  American  portion  of  the  population.  The  gallant 
captain,  with  a  soldierly  disdain  for  the  -finesse  of 
diplomacy,  at  once  issued  a  proclamation  placing  the 
island  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States;  and 
then,  in  obedience  to  his  instructions,  proceeded  to 
select  a  good  defensive  position  "with  a  view  to  the 
establishment  of  a  force  of  five  or  six  companies  for 
a  long  stay." 

The  news  of  the  company's  arrival  on  San  Juan 
was  carried  to  the  authorities  at  Victoria  as  fast  as  it 
was  in  the  power  of  man  to  do  so,  and  a  great  stir  it 
caused  there.  The  city  seethed  with  excitement. 
Every  one,  from  Governor  Douglas  down,  declared  that 
this  occupation  of  territory  in  direct  violation  of  treaty 
rights  and  while  the  title  was  still  in  dispute  was  a 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.   67 

most  unheard-of  proceeding.  The  dignity  of  her 
Majesty's  Government  was  outraged  by  this  Yankee 
presumption,  which  could  not  be  tolerated.  The  island 
must  be  vacated  at  once.  All  this  and  much  more  to 
the  same  effect  was  to  be  heard  everywhere  in  the  little 
colonial  capital.  The  Vancouver  Island  Government 
at  its  disposal  a  force  strong  enough  to  sweep  the 
United  States  soldiers  into  the  Canal  de  Haro  without 
seriously  exerting  itself.  If  those  deluded  soldiers 
attempted  any  resistance  they  must  bear  the  conse- 
quence of  their  action.  They  would  not  be  permitted 
to  defy  the  British  power.  On  this  last  point  the 
colonial  governor  was  emphatic.  Captain  Pickett,  how- 
ever, continued  to  unload  his  stores  from  the  steamer 
Massachusetts,  which  had  transported  him  to  the 
island,  and  to  get  his  camp  in  order. 

On  the  30th  of  July  his  orderly  told  him  that  a 
ship  was  in  sight,  at  the  same  time  handing  him  a 
letter.  He  stepped  out  of  his  tent  and  saw  the  Tribune, 
a  thirty-one-gun  frigate  from  the  naval  station  at  Es- 
quimalt,  bearing  down  upon  the  island.  This  was  a 
serious  matter.  What  was  intended?  Were  the  Victori- 
ans about  to  carry  out  their  threats  and  attempt  to  drive 
him  away?  He  had  his  one  six-pounder  gun  run  by 
hand  to  where  it  commanded  the  island's  single  wharf, 
and  had  every  one  of  his  sixty-six  men  keep  near  their 
arms  and  ready  for  instant  action.  On  came  the  frig- 
ate, her  sails  white  in  the  sunlight,  with  the  water 
parting  in  sparkling  rolls  before  her  prow.  The  muzzles 
of  her  guns  showed  black  and  threatening  along  her 
sides,  and  her  deck  was  dark  with  men.  The  group 
on  shore  (for  by  comparison  they  were  only  a  group) 
quietly  watched  her  manoeuvres  as  they  stood  there 


68  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

uncertain  what  was  to  take  place.  Would  a  white  cloud 
suddenly  belch  forth  from  that  black  side  and  bursting 
shell  fall  among  them,  or  did  the  frigate  come  in  peace  ? 
But  let  her  come  as  she  would,  they  were  determined 
to  stand  by  the  flag  floating  from  its  staff.  When  the 
ship  was  off  the  camp  she  anchored  broadside  on,  and 
evidently  deemed  her  presence  sufficient,  for  she  con- 
tented herself  with  lying  grim  and  silent  at  her  berth. 

When  it  was  evident  that  no  immediate  trouble 
was  to  be  apprehended  Pickett  read  his  letter.  It  was 
from  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  agent.  It  informed 
him  that  San  Juan  belonged  to  the  company,  and  di- 
rected him  to  leave  it  immediately,  threatening  in  the 
event  of  his  refusal  to  do  so  to  appeal  to  the  civil 
authorities  at  Victoria.  The  captain  replied  that  he 
had  been  placed  where  he  was  by  virtue  of  an  order 
from  his  Government,  and  that  he  would  remain  until 
he  was  recalled  by  the  same  authority;  that  he  did  not 
acknowledge  the  right  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company 
to  dictate  his  course  of  action.  This  done,  he  wrote 
a  report  of  what  had  happened  to  his  superior,  and 
ended  it  with  a  request  for  a  supply  of  window  sashes 
and  doors,  which  were  needed  to  make  his  men  com- 
fortable during  the  autumn  and  winter.  Apparently 
he  did  not  anticipate  shortening  his  stay. 

On  August  3d  the  group  on  San  Juan  were  watching 
again — this  time,  the  manoeuvres  of  two  more  of  her 
Majesty's  ships — the  Satellite,  twenty-one  guns,  and 
the  Plumper,  ten  guns — as  they  came  to  an  anchorage 
near  the  Tribune.  The  plucky  captain  probably  watched 
from  his  battery  of  the  one  six-pounder  already  men- 
tioned and  two  mountain  howitzers,  and  afterward  saw 
that  they  were  so  trained  as  to  sweep  the  squadron  ly- 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.       69 

ing  at  anchor  opposite  them.  His  adversaries,  now 
feeling  that  they  were  in  a  position  to  open  communi- 
cations, invited  him  through  Captain  Hornby,  the 
senior  British  naval  officer  present,  to  visit  the  Tribune 
for  a  conference  on  the  San  Juan  matter.  Pickett, 
not  disposed  to  run  any  risks  by  leaving  the  island,  de- 
clined the  invitation,  but  invited  the  three  naval  cap- 
tains to  a  conference  in  his  camp.  His  invitation  was 
accepted.  Military  men  are  not  inclined  to  beat  about 
the  bush  when  they  know  what  they  want.  Two  propo- 
sitions were  made  by  the  British  officers,  but  both  were 
refused  by  the  American.  The  first  one  was  that  the 
United  States  troops  be  withdrawn.  The  second  was 
that  troops  of  both  nations  jointly  occupy  the  island. 

To  his  refusal  of  the  second  Pickett  added  the 
declaration  that  until  he  could  communicate  with  his 
Government  and  receive  its  instructions  in  the  matter 
he  would  oppose  with  force  any  attempt  of  the  British 
to  land  troops  on  the  island. 

Seeing  no  way  of  arranging  their  differences,  the 
four  captains  parted  with  many  assurances  of  respect 
and  esteem  on  both  sides.  The  incidents  of  the  day 
had  not  ended  for  the  American  captain,  however. 
Later  on  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  agent  made  good 
his  threat  to  appeal  to  the  civil  authorities,  and  sum- 
moned Pickett  to  appear  before  a  Victoria  magistrate. 
The  captain's  remarks  on  receipt  of  the  summons  are 
not  in  the  official  correspondence. 

San  Juan  had  now  been  occupied  for  a  week,  and 
there  was  no  sign  of  giving  way  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  soldiers.  Likewise  there  was  no  abate- 
ment of  the  excitement  on  Vancouver  Island.  The  feel- 
ing against  the  Americans  continued  at  the  boiling 
C 


70  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

point,  and  the  provincial  parliament  expressed  the  de- 
sire of  the  whole  people  when  it  urged  the  executive  to 
take  action  to  drive  the  audacious  Yankees  off  of  the  is- 
land at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  One  fiery  legislator 
went  so  far  as  to  demand  that  a  force  large  enough  not 
only  to  overpower  "  the  invaders,  but  to  wipe  the  last 
one  from  the  face  of  the  earth,"  be  sent  to  San  Juan 
without  delay.  The  Americans  knew  all  that  went  on 
at  Victoria,  but  they  never  faltered.  Pickett,  cool  and 
determined,  let  the  storm  rage;  he  had  nothing  to  do 
with  it.  It  was  his  business  to  remain  where  he  was 
and  protect  the  Americans,  and  he  would  do  it. 

It  may  be  that  the  British  authorities  never  in- 
tended to  go  beyond  threats  and  bluster,  and  the  United 
States  troops  had  one  great  advantage — they  were  on 
the  defensive.  The  first  shot  fired  would  be  a  declara- 
tion of  war,  and  the  side  doing  so  would  be  the  ag- 
gressor. 

A  captain  of  infantry  with  sixty-six  men  and  three 
very  small  guns  throwing  down  the  gauntlet  to  a  force 
of  over  a  thousand  men,  backed  by  three  ships  and 
sixty-two  guns,  is  rather  a  preposterous  spectacle;  but 
at  the  time  there  was  nothing  humorous  about  the 
situation  for  the  little  party  on  the  island.  Not  know- 
ing when  the  threatened  blow  might  fall,  they  were 
in  constant  apprehension  of  it.  Presently  two  more 
ships  of  war  joined  the  three  already  menacing  the 
camp.  And  these  five  ships,  carrying  one  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  guns  and  twenty-one  hundred  and  forty 
men,  six  hundred  of  whom  were  marines  and  engineer 
troops,  "  employed  every  means  in  their  power  short  of 
opening  fire  to  intimidate  this  company  of  infantry  " — 
and  failed. 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.   71 

There  was  no  lack  of  life  and  movement  at  this 
time  about  the  hitherto  deadly  quiet  place.  Letters 
and  orders  were  received  and  forwarded.  There  was  no 
United  States  man-of-war  available  for  service  in  those 
waters,  but  now  and  then  the  Shubrick,  a  small  vessel 
with  Captain  Alden,  United  States  navy,  in  command, 
came  and  went,  usually  carrying  despatches.  The 
United  States  boundary  commissioner,  one  A.  Camp- 
bell, appeared  on  the  scene,  but  could  make  nothing 
out  of  the  matter,  so  he  disappeared  and  wrote  letters 
about  it.  Away  at  Fort  Vancouver,  General  Harney, 
believing  himself  in  the  right  and  fearless  of  conse- 
quences, sustained  Pickett  through  thick  and  thin. 
Fierce  but  not  very  dignified  communications  passed 
between  the  general  and  Colonial  Governor  Douglas. 
Ee-enforcements  were  ordered  to  get  off  as  soon  as 
possible.  There  was  some  slight  intercourse  between 
the  camp  and  the  ships.  The  officers  met,  though  it  is 
doubtful  if  any  of  the  bluejackets  were  allowed  on 
shore.  One  day  Captain  Hornby  said  to  Pickett  that 
he  could  easily  land  an  overpowering  force  and  drive 
him  off  the  island.  "Very  well,"  replied  Pickett, 
"whether  you  land  fifty  men  or  five  thousand,  my 
course  will  be  the  same.  I  shall  open  fire,  and,  if  com- 
pelled, take  to  the  woods  fighting." 

Before  the  second  week  ended — that  is,  on  August 
10th — the  re-enforcements,  consisting  of  four  com- 
panies of  infantry,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Silas  Casey, 
Ninth  Infantry,  commanding,  and  eight  thirty-two- 
pounder  guns,  arrived  at  the  island.  They  reached  it 
in  the  morning,  but  a  dense  fog  on  land  and  sea  pre- 
vented their  getting  up  to  the  wharf  off  which  the 
men-of-war  lay.  Consequently  they  landed  on  the 


72  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

beach  a  short  distance  from  it,  and  the  first  intimation 
the  British  had  of  their  proximity  was  the  sight  of  their 
tents  in  camp. 

On  the  14th  three  more  companies  arrived,  and 
the  likelihood  of  a  conflict  had  passed.  With  the  ar- 
rival of  Colonel  Casey  the  undaunted  Pickett's  reign 
of  thirteen  days  was  over.  The  end  of  the  affair  was 
a  joint  occupation  of  the  island  by  both  nations,  each 
keeping  one  company  of  soldiers  there.  If  the  "  diplo- 
mats "  (?)  of  the  United  States  Government  of  a  gen- 
eration ago  had  only  had  the  farseeing  eye  of  Lord 
Ashburton,  there  would  have  been  no  war,  and  every 
port  on  the  northern  Pacific  coast  might  have  been 
one  of  our  own  cities;  but,  alas!  the  outcome  was  the 
old,  old  story,  for  the  British  Lion  put  his  paw  on  the 
land  and  kept  it  there. 

From  1848  to  1860  the  Indians  of  the  Pacific 
coast,  as  well  as  those  of  Texas  and  of  the  great 
plains,  were  more  or  less  hostile;  and  as  the  whites 
steadily  pushed  their  settlements  into  what  they  natu- 
rally regarded  as  their  own  country,  there  were  many 
frontier  combats.  It  is  useless,  or  comparatively 
so,  at  this  late  day  to  try  and  fix  the  blame  where  it 
belongs.  In  some  cases  it  was  undoubtedly  the  fault 
of  the  savages,  in  many  others  the  whites  were  the 
aggressors,  but  in  most  of  the  bloody  massacres  by  the 
Indians  and  the  almost  equally  brutal  and  savage  re- 
prisals by  the  whites  the  awful  punishment  inflicted 
fell  upon  the  innocent  on  both  sides  rather  than  upon 
the  guilty.  There  is  no  possible  excuse  for  the  Indian 
outbreak  and  massacre  of  the  missionaries  and  their 
families  at  the  Chemakane  mission  at  Waiilatpu, 
Oregon,  in  1847,  but  the  action  of  Captain  Ben  Wright, 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.       f3 

of  the  Oregon  volunteers,  in  1852  was  scarcely  less  rep- 
rehensible, although  the  Indians  he  killed  were  part 
of  a  band  who  had  massacred  a  party  of  thirty-three 
emigrants  a  few  months  before.  Forty-eight  of  these 
Indians  were  induced  to  come  to  Wright's  camp,  have 
a  feast  and  make  a  treaty.  After  the  feast  they  sat 
down  to  talk,  and  while  the  talk  was  going  on  Wright 
suddenly  opened  fire  from  his  revolver,  killing  two  of 
the  principal  Indians.  At  this  prearranged  signal  his 
men  began  firing,  and  killed  thirty-six  more  of  them. 
Four  years  later  the  Eogue  Eiver  Indians  suddenly 
rose  and  massacred  this  same  Captain  Wright  and 
twenty-three  others  at  their  agency.  In  1853  a  gen- 
eral uprising  of  the  Indians  took  place  in  the  Kogue 
Eiver  Valley,  in  Oregon,  and  many  innocent  settlers 
and  their  families  were  killed,  their  growing  crops  de- 
stroyed, and  their  houses  burned.  These  uprisings 
were  finally  put  down  by  the  regular  army  and  the 
Oregon  volunteers,  but  again  in  1855  there  were  attacks 
on  the  settlers  by  the  hostile  Indians,  and  unfortu- 
nately reprisals  on  the  friendly  ones.  At  the  Waggoner 
massacre  eighteen  people  were  suddenly  attacked  and 
killed  by  the  hostile  Indians,  six  being  women;  and 
"  thenceforward  a  sanguinary  war  was  waged  between 
whites  and  Indians."  In  1855  a  party  of  volunteers 
surrounded  a  camp  of  Indians  "  whom  they  knew  to  be 
friendly  and  unarmed,"  and  killed  nineteen  of  them, 
and  the  extermination  of  all  neighboring  Indians  be- 
came the  openly  avowed  policy  of  the  settlers.  Need- 
less to  say,  this  policy  eventually  led  to  many  ter- 
rible massacres  upon  unoffending  settlers,  and  caused 
border  wars  in  which  friendly  Indians  and  white 
noncombatants  frequently  lost  their  lives,  and  the 


74:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

settlement  and  growth  of  the  country  was  greatly  re- 
tarded. 

The  Texan  border  for  many  long  years  was  the 
scene  of  savage  combats  between  the  settlers  and  the 
Indians,  and  our  Northwestern  frontier,  from  1845  to 
the  outbreak  of  our  great  civil  war  in  1860,  was 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent  a  series  of  Indian  up- 
risings and  their  temporary  suppression  by  the 
United  States  troops.  Treaties  were  made  and  fre- 
quently shamelessly  violated  by  both  the  white  set- 
tlers and  the  Indians  when  it  seemed  to  their  interest 
to  do  so.  It  could  not  well  be  otherwise,  as  our  people 
were  constantly  advancing  our  border  line  and  the  In- 
dians were  being  steadily  forced  back.  Many  of  the 
white  and  half-breed  Indian  traders  were  men  of  great 
cupidity  and  practically  no  conscience  whatever.  In 
open  defiance  of  law  they  sold  the  Indians  whisky,  fire- 
arms, and  ammunition,  and  a  half -drunken  Indian  with 
a  gun  in  his  hand  only  needs  a  good  opportunity  to 
become  little  less  than  a  fiend  incarnate  if  an  unarmed 
settler  or  his  helpless  womankind  falls  in  his  way. 
That  the  Indian  has  been  wronged,  and  deeply  wronged, 
by  bad  white  men  is  true,  but  it  must  always  be  borne 
in  mind  that,  cruel  as  the  aphorism  is,  "  the  survival  of 
the  fittest"  is  a  truism  that  can  not  be  ignored  nor 
gainsaid,  and  barbarism  must  necessarily  give  way  be- 
fore advancing  civilization.  Again,  frontiersmen  as-  a 
usual  thing,  while  brave  and  not  generally  cruel,  are 
rough,  hard-headed,  hard-handed,  virile  men  of  aggres- 
sive personality  and  great  physical  strength,  with 
blunt  manners  and  ordinarily  of  but  little,  if  any,  liter- 
ary culture  or  education,  who  are  ever  fighting  their 
way  forward  and  forcing  farther  back  warlike  tribes  of 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.   75 

savages  in  the  outcoming  interests  of  a  better  human- 
ity. It  would  certainly  be  more  humane  to  accomplish 
the  result  in  some  other  way,  but  thus  far  our  people 
have  not  succeeded  in  doing  so,  more's  the  pity. 

One  of  the  most  unsatisfactory  military  campaigns, 
considered  from  the  standpoint  of  a  soldier,  ever  en- 
tered upon  by  our  Government  was  what  is  now  known 
as  the  Utah  expedition  of  1857,  and  it  is  outlined  by  the 
writer  only  that  the  reader  may  get  a  glimpse  of  how 
army  movements  that  have  frequently  entailed  great 
suffering  on  the  part  of  the  regular  troops  while  cam- 
paigning on  the  Western  frontier  are  always  taken  as  a 
matter  of  course,  without  complaint  and  in  the  line  of 
duty,  with  simply  the  bare  "  "Well  done  "  of  the  War  De- 
partment as  the  sole  meed  of  merit.  The  expedition  was 
organized  to  compel  the  Mormons  who  were  the  occu- 
pants of  the  Territory  of  Utah  to  recognise,  respect,  and 
obey  the  United  States  Government,  which  authority 
they  had  from  time  to  time  deliberately  and  unhesi- 
tatingly flouted  and  defied,  and  also  to  give  Govern- 
ment protection  to  small  and  weak  parties  of  mining 
prospectors  who  might  .be  engaged  in  hunting  for  pre- 
cious metals  within  the  borders  of  the  Territory  of 
Utah,  as  well  as  to  all  parties  of  emigrants  from  the 
East  on  their  way  through  to  California,  Oregon,  and 
Washington  Territories  while  passing  through  the  said 
Territory  of  Utah,  and  some  of  whom  it  was  alleged 
(and  with  truth)  had  been  attacked  and  ruthlessly 
butchered  by  certain  of  the  mountain  tribes  of  Indians, 
aided,  abetted,  and  assisted  by  Mormons  disguised  as 
Indians.  It  was  generally  believed  that  if  this  bloody 
work  was  not  directly  authorized  by  the  apostles  of  the 
Mormon  Church,  the  leaders  of  that  organization  all 


76  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

knew  of  it  and  took  no  steps  to  ferret  out  and  punish 
the  perpetrators.  This  campaign  was  not  a  move  that 
met  the  hearty  approval  of  the  political  party  then  in 
power,  but  in  this  instance  public  sentiment  was  so 
strong  that  it  rose  above  party  lines  and  compelled  the 
Government  to  act. 

Accordingly,  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  with  the 
avowed  object  of  punishing  these  people  and  left  our 
western  border  at  Fort  Leavenworth  in  the  summer  of 
1857.  It  was  splendidly  equipped  by  the  War  De- 
partment and  started  with  immense  trains  of  sup- 
plies containing  nearly  everything  that  could  be 
thought  of  that  the  command  was  likely  to  need  dur- 
ing the  campaign.  The  force  designated  for  the  ex- 
pedition was  two  regiments  of  infantry,  the  Fifth 
and  Tenth,  the  Second  Dragoons,  and  two  batteries  of 
light  artillery,  which  it  was  thought  would  prove  amply 
strong  for  the  purposes  supposedly  intended  by  our 
Government.  The  free-state  troubles,  which  were  rife 
at  the  time  in  the  then  new  State  of  Kansas,  tempo- 
rarily held  the  Second  Dragoons  there,  and  so  the  ex- 
pedition started  from  Fort  Leavenworth  without  its 
cavalry.  General  Harney,  who  was  the  officer  upon 
whom  the  command  would  ordinarily  have  devolved, 
could  not  well  be  spared  in  the  condition  of  things  that 
then  obtained,  so  General  P.  F.  Smith  was  selected,  but 
he  suddenly  fell  ill  and  died  just  as  the  command  was 
ready  to  start.  Accordingly,  the  command  devolved 
upon  its  senior  officer,  Colonel  Alexander,  of  the  infan- 
try. He  seems  to  have  had  no  adequate  instructions  as 
to  what  was  expected  of  him,  and  only  knew  that  his 
destination  was  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah.  On  entering 
the  Territory  of  Utah  he  was  met  by  a  letter  from  its 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.       77 

governor,  Brigham  Young,  forbidding  his  farther 
march,  but  offering  him  the  privilege  of  staying  in  camp 
for  the  winter  on  Green  Kiver  if  he  would  give  up  his 
arms  and  ammunition  to  the  Territorial  quartermaster 
general,  one  Lewis  Eobinson.  Of  course  he  did  not 
comply  with  the  insolent  demand,  but  halted  at  Ham's 
Fork  and  went  into  camp.  It  was  already  the  end  of 
September  and  winter  would  soon  be  upon  him,  and  he 
was  nearly  out  of  forage.  The  Mormons  were  hostile 
and  would  not  sell  him  anything,  and  he  unfortunately 
had  no  cavalry  with  which  to  forage  on  the  country, 
and  furthermore,  while  he  was  a  good  officer  with  a  fine 
record,  he  seems  not  to  have  had  a  strong  enough  per- 
sonality to  dominate  the  situation.  In  the  mean- 
time the  Mormon  Lieutenant-General  D.  H.  Wells  had 
issued  orders  to  the  Mormon  militia  "  to  annoy  the 
troops  in  every  possible  way,  stampede  their  animals, 
set  fire  to  their  trains,  burn  the  whole  country  before 
them  and  on  their  flanks,  and  to  leave  no  grass  any- 
where for  their  animals;  also  to  keep  them  from  sleep- 
ing by  night  surprises."  One  of  his  large  supply  trains 
which  was  a  day's  march  behind  him  and  without  a 
guard  was  seized  and  burned  by  the  Mormons  at  Simp- 
son's Hollow,  and  two  more  were  captured  and  burned 
on  the  Sweetwater,  and  a  large  number  of  the  ox  teams 
were  driven  off. 

On  the  10th  of  October  Colonel  Alexander  de- 
cided to  move  to  Salt  Lake  Valley  by  way  of  Soda 
Springs,  a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles.  The  grass 
had  been  burned  along  this  very  route  according  to 
General  Wells's  orders,  in  anticipation  of  this  move- 
ment. The  cattle  were  already  nearly  starved  and 
soon  became  exhausted,  and  before  a  week  had  passed 


78  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

three  miles  a  day  was  all  that  the  trains  could  possibly 
make.  In  fact,  things  were  in  a  most  desperate  plight, 
when  Colonel  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  the  newly  ap- 
pointed commander  of  the  expedition,  was  heard  from. 
He  had  started  out  with  the  delayed  cavalry  column, 
and  had  full  instructions,  was  a  most  splendid  soldier, 
and  a  man  of  energy,  action,  and  decision.  It  was  now 
so  late  in  the  season  that  there  was  but  one  thing  to  do. 
Colonel  Alexander's  force  was  ordered  back  to  meet 
Colonel  Johnston  at  a  certain  given  point,  and  began 
to  retrace  its  steps,  but  it  could  only  crawl,  for  the 
country  was  covered  with  snow  and  the  animals  abso- 
lutely starving.  On  November  3d  they  reached  the 
rendezvous  and  met  Colonel  Johnston,  who  joined  them 
with  a  small  re-enforcement  of  cavalry  and  some  supply 
trains.  The  command  then  started  for  Fort  Bridger, 
where  it  had  been  decided  to  winter.  It  was  only  thirty- 
five  miles  distant,  but  it  took  them  fifteen  days  to  make 
the  march.  The  snow  was  very  deep,  the  weafher  bit- 
terly cold,  and  many  of  the  men  were  badly  frostbitten. 
In  Colonel  Philip  St.  George  Cooke's  regiment  of  cav- 
alry fifty-seven  head  of  horses  and  mules  perished  of 
cold  at  a  single  encampment  on  the  Sweetwater.  In 
the  camp  at  Black  Fork  on  the  6th  of  November 
five  hundred  animals  were  frozen  to  death  in  one  night; 
fifteen  oxen  were  found  frozen  stiff  in  one  bunch  where 
they  had  lain  down  close  together  for  mutual  warmth. 
Two  miles  a  day  through  the  snowdrifts  was  all  the 
train  could  make.  On  their  arrival  at  old  Fort  Bridger 
they  found  nothing  but  the  smoke-blackened  walls  of 
the  post,  for  the  Mormons  had  burned  it  as  soon  as 
they  learned  that  the  troops  were  en  route  for  that 
place.  However,  neither  the  officers  nor  the  troops 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.       79 

despaired;  they  were  not  men  of  that  calibre.  Tents 
were  temporarily  set  up  within  the  naked  walls,  and 
every  one  set  about  bettering  their  condition,  and  each 
well  man  did  his  utmost.  The  few  oxen  they  had  left, 
being  too  weak  to  haul  wagons,  were  butchered  for  beef, 
and  the  men  themselves  hauled  the  wagons  through 
the  snow  to  the  hills  six  miles  distant,  chopped  down 
the  trees  for  firewood,  and  then  hauled  the  loaded 
wagons  back  to  camp.  One  of  the  burned-out  store- 
houses, the  walls  of  which  were  still  standing,  was 
roofed  over  and  used  for  storage.  Sibley  tents  and 
dugouts  soon  dotted  the  old  parade  ground,  the  cav- 
alry established  a  camp  on  Henry's  Fork,  and  the 
dragoons  with  their  horses  sought  such  shelter  as  they 
could  find  among  the  willows  and  cottonwoods  border- 
ing the  stream.  Very  soon  another  camp  was  made  on 
Black's  Fork,  two  miles  above  Fort  Bridger,  where 
General  Johnston  established  his  headquarters  for  the 
winter,  naming  the  place  Camp  Scott,  which  fortu- 
nately was  partially  sheltered  by  the  high  bluffs  which 
stood  back  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  hank  of  the 
stream.  Clumps  of  cottonwood  were  also  within  reach- 
ing distance,  so  that  the  men  soon  hutted  themselves, 
and  then  routine  camp  life  at  once  began,  and  guard 
mount,  inspection,  and  parade  kept  the  troops  in  their 
usual  state  of  discipline. 

If  ever  a  command  exhibited  its  splendid  train- 
ing this  one  did  when  doing  duty  uncomplainingly 
while  plodding  along  two  miles  a  day  in  the  deep 
snow  with  the  thermometer  ranging  from  ten  to  forty- 
four  degrees  below  zero.  There  was  little  if  any  com- 
plaint, the  troops  were  generally  seasoned  men  of  the 
regular  army,  and  the  few  new  recruits  took  their 


80  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

tone  from  the  old  soldiers.  When  a  man  could  go 
no  farther  on  the  march  he  was  put  in  one  of  the 
wagons,  and  what  little  the  surgeons  could  do  was  done 
for  him.  Those  of  the  sick  who  lived  to  get  through 
to  Fort  Bridger  generally  recovered.  The  newly  ap- 
pointed civil  governor  of  Utah,  Governor  Gumming, 
eventually  came  out  from  the  States  and  established 
himself  at  Fort  Bridger,  and  General  Johnston  during 
the  winter  sent  out  two  expeditions,  one  to  New  Mexico 
and  the  other  to  Oregon.  Both  encountered  terrible 
snowstorms  and  intensely  cold  weather,  but  got 
through  and  obtained  all  the  supplies  and  animals  they 
wished.  As  spring  approached  Governor  Brigham 
Young  decided  that  he  could  not  successfully  fight  the 
Government,  and  announced  that  he  would  receive 
and  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  newly  appointed 
governor,  and  so  Governor  Gumming  went  to  Salt  Lake 
City  and  was  duly  inaugurated.  On  the  approach  of 
our  troops,  some  weeks  later,  the  Mormons  generally 
left  Salt  Lake  City  with  their  families  and  household 
goods  and  started  South.  In  about  three  months,  how- 
ever, most  of  them  returned,  and  found,  to  their  aston- 
ishment, that  their  homes  and  property  had  not  been 
molested  in  the  slightest  degree.  For  burning  our 
wagon  trains,  destroying  our  supplies,  burning  Fort 
Bridger,  and  stealing  over  a  thousand  head  of  Govern- 
ment cattle,  thereby  indirectly  compassing  the  death 
of  many  of  our  men,  nothing  whatever  was  done  to 
this  people,  who  in  the  spring  were  in  the  hollow  of 
our  hand,  to  do  with  as  the  Government  saw  fit,  and 
through  the  action  of  the  newly  appointed  governor 
of  Utah  it  saw  fit  not  to  do  anything.  And  so  for  the 
time  being  the  Mormons  went  scot  free,  notwithstand- 


THE  ARMY  ON  THE  WESTERN  FRONTIER.       81 

ing  the  murder  of  our  miners  and  emigrants  and  the 
losses  inflicted  on  our  army. 

Still,  the  eventual  outcome  of  the  expedition  was 
not  altogether  fruitless,  for  the  presence  of  our  troops 
at  Fort  Douglas  (an  army  post  located  near  Salt  Lake 
City)  re-established  the  authority  of  our  Government, 
gave  safety  to  the  gentile  inhabitants  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, and  protected  the  passing  emigrants.  Final- 
ly, the  presence  of  the  troops  enabled  the  United 
States  district  courts  to  put  in  motion  a  series  of  legal 
processes  that,  despite  every  possible  obstacle  thrown  in 
its  way  by  the  Mormons,  eventually  ferreted  out, 
brought  to  light,  and  secured  the  conviction  of  the 
Mormon  leader  in  the  awful  Mountain  Meadow  mas- 
sacre, where  the  Mormons,  aided  by  their  Indian 
allies,  surrounded  and  attacked  an  emigrant  train  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  persons,  on  its  way 
from  Arkansas  to  California,  and  when  they  realized 
that  they  could  not  capture  it  without  great  loss  of 
life  (for  the  emigrants  corralled  their  wagons,  and  for 
four  days  made  a  stout  resistance  and  stood  off  the 
attacking  forces),  the  Mormons  sent  in  a  flag  of  truce, 
offering,  "  if  the  emigrants  would  lay  down  their  arms, 
to  protect  them."  Believing  that  they  ^would  keep 
their  word,  the  emigrants  surrendered.  •  In  h^ilf  an  hour 
the  massacre  of  the  unarmed  emigrants  began,  and  with 
the  exception  of  seventeen  young  children,  too  young 
to  ever  be  able  to  testify  in  court  against  them,  the  Mor- 
mons and  Indians  killed  every  emigrant  with  the  train. 
Twenty,  years  later  the  leader  in  this  fiendish  work, 
Major  John  D.  Lee,  a  bishop  in  the  Mormon  Church, 
was  legally  executed  on  the  very  spot  on  which  his  vic- 
tims perished. 


CHAPTER   V. 

CHARACTERISTICS  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERI- 
CAN SOLDIER  —  HIS  SURROUNDINGS,  PERQUISITES, 
AND  PAY. 

THERE  is  one  element  in  the  character  of  the  Amer- 
ican-born soldier  that,  so  far  as  I  know,  is  not  to  be 
found  in  so  great  a  degree  in  any  other  soldier  in  the 
world.  I  allude  to  his  marked  individuality  and  splen- 
did self-reliance  under  any  and  all  circumstances,  and 
it  is  developed  from  three  sources:  First,  he  serves  his 
country  voluntarily  and  of  his  own  free  will,  as  in  order 
to  enter  the  army  he  must  seek  the  service,  for  in  ordi- 
nary times  military  service  does  not  seek  him",  and  he  is 
only  accepted  and  enlisted  when  he  fulfils  certain  well- 
defined  mental  and  physical  requirements.  Then,  again, 
he  realizes  that  he  is  the  political  equal  of  any  other 
citizen  of  the  republic,  which  is  a  firm  foundation  on 
which  to  base  his  personal  poise  of  a  decent  self-respect. 
And  third,  it  grows  out  of  the  fact  that  the  Govern- 
ment he  is  fighting  for  is  his  very  own.  He  feels  that 
he  is  an  integral  part  of  the  nation  and  belongs  to  it, 
as  the  soldiers  of  other  nations  feel  that  they  belong 
to  their  own  country;  but  just  here  arises  the  difference 
between  him  and  the  soldiers  of  most  other  govern- 
ments, for  the  nation  belongs  also  to  him  individually, 
82 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER.       83 

as  it  can  not  to  them,  as  there  is  no  reigning  family 
or  dynasty  between  him  and  the  head  of  the  country. 
He  does  not  owe  allegiance  to  any  sovereign  or  reigning 
house,  but  directly  to  the  nation  collectively,  one  of 
whose  citizens  he  is.  There  is  a  vast  difference  between 
being  a  citizen  and  a  subject,  for  if  the  soldier  is  a  na- 
tive of  the  country  there  is  no  position  in  the  nation, 
however  exalted,  to  which  he  may  not  legally  aspire. 
If  he  has  been  born  a  foreigner,  on  becoming  a  citizen 
of  the  republic  and  a  soldier  in  its  army  he  is  barred 
from  but  one  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people,  and 
it  is  the  ever  inherent  knowledge  of  this  fact  that  un- 
consciously pervades  and  thrills  him,  and  holds  him 
to  his  work  on  many  a  hard-fouglit  field,  when  standing 
almost  alone,  with  his  comrades  lying  dead  around 
him,  he  refuses  to  give  way  and  retreat  long  after  he 
has  lost  touch  of  his  fellow-soldiers  from  the  gaps  that 
death  has  made  in  their  ranks.  And  so  he  fights  on 
hopefully,  if  desperately,  for  he  knows  and  keenly  feels 
that  if  defeat  comes  the  disaster  first  comes  directly 
home  to  him,  and  through  him  to  the  nation,  who  are 
his  very  own  people,  whose  uniform  he  wears  and  whose 
flag  and  good  faith  they  have  a  right  to  look  to  and 
expect  him  to  defend  and  maintain  on  the  field  of 
battle  to  his  last  gasp,  for  you  may  rest  assured  that 
the  pure  patriotism  and  unswerving  devotion  of  the 
regular  soldier  to  his  country  in  her  hour  of  need  will 
not  fail  the  nation  when  the  sacrifice  of  his  life  will 
carry  its  flag  forward  to  victory. 

Demagogues  may,  for  political  reasons,  assail  and 
belittle  and  decry  the  regular  forces  of  the  United 
States,  but  if  they  have  made  the  subject  a  study  they 
well  know  in  their  inmost  hearts  that  by  all  odds,  bar 


84:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

none,  the  regular  soldier  of  the  United  States  army, 
both  officer  and  enlisted  man,  is  the  most  absolutely 
law-abiding,  the  most  thoroughly  devoted,  and  ever  and 
always  the  most  stanchly  loyal  citizen  of  the  republic. 
To  him  the  life  of  the  nation  means  more  than  it  can  to 
the  average  civilian,  for  if  occasion  arises  he  has  to  sac- 
rifice his  life  in  its  defence,  and  once  he  is  a  soldier  by 
profession  he  has  soon  lost  touch  with  localities  and 
townships;  State  and  county  lines  are  to  him  only  the 
limits  of  demarcation  on  the  map  that  stand  for  the 
more  convenient  control  of  the  provincial  citizen.  He 
is  as  much  at  home  in  South  Carolina  as  Massachusetts, 
as  eager  for  the  welfare  of  Texas  as  of  Maine,  as  proud 
of  the  record  of  Virginia  as  of  New  York,  and  as  de- 
sirous for  the  material  prosperity  of  the  South  as  of  the 
West.  His  ambition  and  his  hopes  are  all  for  the  nation 
and  the  happiness  and  best  development  of  all  of  its 
people  and  every  foot  of  its  territory. 

The  average  American  lad  who  develops  into  a  re- 
cruit always  knows  something  of  firearms,  and  whether 
he  has  been  brought  up  in  the  city  or  country,  or 
whether  he  is  rich  or  poor,  it  is  safe  to  presume  that  he 
has  been  bird  shooting  more  or  less  during  his  boyhood. 
Firearms  are  so  easily  obtainable  in  our  country,  there 
being  no  Government  license  required  as  to  possession, 
no  game  laws  to  forbid  the  shooting  of  game  in  season, 
and  no  Government  license  or  permit  required  to  au- 
thorize hunting,  as  there  is  in  most  of  the  civilized  Euro- 
pean countries.  It  is  therefore  only  requisite  for  any 
one  to  borrow,  hire,  or  own  a  gun  and  provide  himself 
with  the  necessary  ammunition  to  roam  the  fields  at  will 
throughout  the  country  and  shoot  at  his  own  discre- 
tion. Consequently,  many  of  the  free  public  school  boys 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER.       85 

in  our  villages  and  the  farming  country  save  their  pen- 
nies to  buy  ammunition,  borrow  or  hire  a  shotgun, 
and  put  in  an  occasional  Saturday  holiday  during  the 
game  season  in  the  fields  among  the  marshes  or  along 
the  rivers  or  shores  of  the  lakes  in  their  vicinity,  and 
tramp  for  hours,  popping  away  now  and  then  at  any 
stray  bird,  game  or  otherwise,  that  comes  in  their  way. 
It  does  not,  as  a  general  thing,  do  the  birds  much  harm, 
and  really  does  the  boys  much  good;  as  they  come 
home  tired  and  dirty,  with  wonderful  appetites  and  big 
stories  of  the  birds  that  fell  in  the  river,  or  lake,  or 
just  out  of  bounds  among  the  reeds,  which  they  could 
not  find,  and  go  to  bed  happy  and  content,  and  sleep 
soundly  in  the  serene  satisfaction  that  they  have  had 
a  day's  sport  and  will  have  something  great  to  tell  their 
fellow-schoolmates  on  Monday  morning.  It  is  this  gen- 
eral knowledge  of  firearms,  picked  up  in  this  desultory 
way,  that  makes  it  easier  for  the  average  American  re- 
cruit to  learn  and  quicker  to  appreciate  the  nice  points 
of  rifle  shooting  than  the  ordinary  foreign-born  recruit, 
who  has  not  had  the  same  advantages  in  youth.  An- 
other thing  is  evident  to  the  close  observer,  and  that  is 
the  inherent  turn  for  mechanism  that  Americans  have. 
As  soon  as  a  gun  is  given  to  an  American  recruit  he 
will  avail  himself  of  the  earliest  possible  opportunity  to 
take  it  apart  and  examine  it  in  detail  to  the  smallest 
screw,  and  then  reassemble  it,  rarely  making  the  slight- 
est error  in  doing  so  at  the  first  attempt.  Not  so  the 
foreign-born  recruit,  however.  His  gun  will  generally 
remain  as  given  to  him  until,  in  the  course  of  time, 
he  is  taught  to  take  it  apart  and  reassemble  it  under 
the  guidance  of  a  noncommissioned  officer. 

Instruction  in  rifle  practice  in  our  army  has  of  late 

7 


86  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

years  been  carried  to  the  greatest  possible  proficiency, 
and  the  average  soldier  of  a  year's  standing  is  fairly 
safe  to  be  a  thoroughly  good  shot  if  he  has  the  slightest 
natural  tendency  toward  a  fondness  for  firearms,  as 
most  native-born  soldiers  in  our  army  certainly  do  have, 
and  so  thoroughly  has  target  practice  in  our  army 
been  looked  after  and  so  carefully  have  the  men  been 
trained  at  point-blank,  middle-distance,  and  long-range, 
and  taught  to  fire  standing,  kneeling,  and  lying  down, 
both  by  volley  and  individually,  that  the  writer  does 
not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  men  of  the  United  States 
army  two  years  ago — before  the  regiments  were  en- 
larged and  recruited  up  to  the  new  standard — were  as  a 
class  by  long  odds  the  best  riflemen  in  the  world  and 
infinitely  superior  to  the  Boers,  who  have  recently  been 
so  lauded  for  their  good  shooting. 

The  man  who  enlists  in  our  army  may  in  the  begin- 
ning enter  the  service  for  various  reasons.  He  may 
be  a  mechanic  tired  of  routine  life,  a  farmer  with  a 
taste  for  life  on  the  frontier,  a  student  tired  of  his 
books,  a  young  business  man  who  has  not  made  a  suc- 
cess of  his  first  venture,  an  emigrant  who  can  not  find 
work,  or  possibly  owing  to  the  simple  reason  that  he 
wishes  to  become  a  soldier,  or  for  any  one  of  a  hundred 
and  one  reasons  with  which  we  have  nothing  to  do. 
If,  however,  he  is  a  fairly  young  and  active  man  and 
comes  up  to  the  physical  standard  set  by  our  medical 
corps,  he  is  generally  accepted,  duly  clothed  in  uni- 
form at  the  recruiting  station,  and  sent  to  some  one  of 
the  army  recruiting  depots,  where  he  is  put  "into  the  awk- 
ward squad  and  gets  a  few  weeks  of  preliminary  drill 
and  something  of  an  insight  into  routine  army  life, 
until  an  order  is  received  from  the  office  of  the  adju- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER.       87 

tant  general  of  the  army  directing  that  a  certain  de- 
tachment of  recruits  be  forwarded  to  some  frontier  post 
for  assignment  to  the  regiment  on  duty  there.  He  is 
then  sent,  together  with  numerous  other  recruits,  under 
charge  of  an  old  noncommissioned  officer,  to  his  des- 
tination. On  his  arrival  at  his  post  he  is  assigned  by 
the  commanding  officer  to  one  of  the  companies  on 
duty,  is  duly  taken  upon  the  company  roster  and  en- 
tered on  the  company  books,  has  a  cot  in  the  barracks 
assigned  to  him  by  the  first  sergeant,  is  placed  in  the 
squad  of  a  noncommissioned  officer,  and  his  military 
life  and  education  begins. 

He  now  for  the  first  time  finds  himself  at  home 
in  the  barracks  of  his  own  regiment,  and  soon  realizes 
that  he  is  already  being  unconsciously  looked  over  and 
an  estimate  of  his  mental  and  physical  calibre  quietly 
formed  by  all  the  men  of  his  company  or  troop.  Dur- 
ing the  first  few  days  he  is  in  barracks  he  is  apt  to  over- 
hear many  an  adverse  comment  regarding  himself,  and 
for  a  month  or  so  has  to  undergo  a  certain  amount  of 
guying  and  sarcasm  from  the  two  or  three  chronic  growl- 
ers and  grumblers  that  infest  nearly  all  military  compa- 
nies, and  he  may,  and  probably  will,  find  a  few  foul- 
mouthed  and  profane  men  in  the  company  whose  conver- 
sation in  barracks  grates  upon  him;  but  as  he  can  not  get 
rid  of  them  he  must  learn  to  endure  them.  The  fact  that 
practically  he  is  never  alone  is  soon  borne  in  upon  him, 
and  it  is  one  of  the  actual  hardships  of  an  enlisted 
man  which  it  is  most  difficult  for  him  to  finally  accept 
and  eventually  become  accustomed  to.  His  bed  is 
placed  with  say  twenty  or  thirty  others  in  the  main 
room  of  the  barracks,  all  standing  about  three  or  four 
feet  from  each  other  with  an  alleyway  eight  or  ten 


88  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

feet  wide  at  the  foot  of  them.  His  locker  stands  at 
the  foot  of  his  bed,  and  his  bed,  his  chair,  his 
locker,  clothes,  and  arms  are  his  own  particular  pos- 
sessions. Everything  else  is  in  common  with  others. 
He  can,  however,  go  to  the  company  reading  room, 
where  he  will  find  newspapers  and  a  few  magazines,  and 
nearly  all  companies  in  our  service  have  a  good  library. 
This  room  is  a  boon  to  many  a  new  and  half -homesick 
man,  for  loud  conversation  is  not  permitted  and  ha- 
bitual swearers  and  foul-mouthed  story-tellers  fight  shy 
of  it.  About  two  or  perhaps  three  months'  daily  drill 
and  instruction  will  have  advanced  him  so  that  he  will 
be  detailed  as  a  supernumerary  of  the  guard.  This  will 
soon  be  followed  by  his  being  detailed  for  guard,  and 
when  he  comes  off  guard  for  the  first  time  he  is  already 
recognised  as  a  young  soldier,  with  much  to  learn  of 
course,  but  still  he  is  away  beyond  the  raw-recruit  stage, 
and  he  soon  realizes  that  fact.  If  he  is  an  American, 
another  one  of  the  hardest  things  for  him  to  learn 
after  his  entrance  to  the  army  is  to  sink  his  individ- 
uality and  quietly  accept  the  fact  that  no  matter  what 
he  thinks  about  an  order,  he  must  unquestioningly, 
unhesitatingly,  and  promptly  obey  it.  If  a  country 
lad  or  a  mechanic  he  has  probably  been  accustomed 
to  debating  and  even  arguing  as  to  the  good  sense  of 
the  instructions  regarding  his  own  work.  His  first  re- 
mark in  this  direction  after  enlisting  in  the  army  is 
curtly  cut  short  by  the  corporal  or  sergeant  over  him, 
and  he  is  sharply  told  to  "  obey,  not  argue."  It  is  a 
really  difficult  thing  for  an  American  recruit  to  accept 
the  fact  that  he  is  only  a  cog  in  a  vast  machine,  but  as 
the  days  go  by  gradually  his  naturally  keen  perceptive 
faculties  enable  him  to  grasp  the  absolute  necessity  of 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER.       89 

such  a  state  of  affairs,  and  when  he  once  fully  realizes 
this  before  he  is  well  into  his  second  year's  service,  he  is 
generally  content  to  accept  the  situation  and  live  strict- 
ly up  to  its  requirements.  At  last  he  is  a  cog  in  the 
machine,  but  what  a  manly,  splendid,  trained,  plucky, 
thinking  cog  he  is,  now  that  he  has  learned  that  it  is 
his  duty  to  give  unquestioning  obedience  to  lawful  au- 
thority! And  at  length  he  begins  to  thoroughly  com- 
prehend the  reason  for  the  absolute  necessity  of  military 
discipline. 

Few  people  who  have  not  given  the  subject  much 
thought  realize  in  any  considerable  degree  what  daily 
drill,  steady  discipline,  and  insistent  and  persistent 
work  will  in  the  course  of  time  accomplish  in  the  case 
of  even  the  dullest  recruit.  Army  regulations  provide 
that  "  all  persons  in  the  military  service  must  obey 
strictly  and  execute  promptly  the  lawful  orders  of  their 
superiors,"  and  the  recruit  who  has  enlisted  in  the 
United  States  army  is  soon  taught  that  the  order  of 
the  youngest  corporal  in  his  company  is  just  as  em- 
phatic and  as  much  to  be  observed  and  as  promptly  to 
be  obeyed  as  that  of  the  captain  of  his  company  or  the 
colonel  of  his  regiment.  The  facts  that  the  young  cor- 
poral who  is  in  charge  of  his  squad  wears  the  chevrons 
of  a  noncommissioned  officer,  that  his  appointment  to 
that  grade  by  his  company  commander  has  been  ap- 
proved by  the  colonel  of  the  regiment,  and  a  noncom- 
missioned officer's  warrant  duly  issued  him  also  estab- 
lish another  fact,  which  is  that  the  corporal  has 
learned  to  appreciate  and  apply  two  other  army  regu- 
lations: First,  that  "  military  authority  will  be  exer- 
cised with  firmness,  kindness,  and  justice,"  and  second, 
"  superiors  are  forbidden  to  injure  those  under  their 


90  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

authority  by  tyrannical  or  capricious  conduct  or  by 
abusive  language  ";  otherwise  he  would  not  have  been 
appointed  a  corporal.  It  is  this  lawfully  relegated  au- 
thority from  the  regimental  commander  to  the  junior 
corporal  that  enables  the  colonel  to  enforce  the  neces- 
sary discipline  to  render  his  command  a  perfect  fighting 
machine,  and  when  the  men  of  his  regiment,  by  years 
of  hard  work  in  the  school  of  the  soldier,  have  been 
well  set  up  individually  and  perfectly  drilled  in  the 
manual  of  arms  and  squad,  company,  and  battalion 
drill,  and  have  graduated  as  marksmen  or  sharpshoot- 
ers at  the  rifle  butts,  as  well  as  learned  how  to  take 
the  road  and  march  well  together  with  a  swinging  route 
step,  and  how  to  best  care  for  themselves  on  the  march 
and  in  camp,  the  end  in  view  has  been  fairly  well  at- 
tained, and  there  need  be  no  fear  but  that  such  a  regi- 
ment will  prove  itself  a  fighting  machine  of  the  very 
first  class  and  amply  repay  all  the  time,  work,  and  trou- 
ble it  has  taken  to  bring  it  up  to  the  required  standard. 
But  to  attain  this  end  each  individual  enlisted  man 
has  had  to  be  steadily  looked  after  and  followed  up  for 
many  months  until  he  has  become  a  soldier,  and  to  have 
become  a  soldier  implies  much.  Let  us  see  what  it  is 
that  make  a  good  soldier.  He  must  be  an  intelligent 
man,  honest,  clean  in  person,  neat  in  attire,  respectful 
and  courteous  in  manner,  prompt  in  obedience,  healthy, 
active,  strong,  temperate  and  sober,  and  a  fairly  good 
field  cook,  so  that  he  can  prepare  his  own  food  or  assist 
the  company  cook  should  occasion  demand  it.  His  arms 
and  equipment  must  be  kept  exquisitely  clean,  and  he 
is  generally  well  set  up  in  person.  He  is  also  quite  an 
athlete,  and  thoroughly  well  drilled  in  the  manual  of 
arms  as  well  as  in  company  drill,  and  he  must  have  made 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER.       91 

such  scores  on  the  rifle  range  as  entitle  him  to  be  classed 
a  marksman,  or  perhaps  even  he  has  won  the  medal  of 
a  sharpshooter.  Furthermore,  by  constant  and  reiter- 
ated instruction,  example,  inspection,  reproof,  and  en- 
couragement, he  has  become  so  thoroughly  ingrained 
with  a  sense  of  his  individual  responsibility  that  when 
on  post,  picket,  or  camp  guard  he  can  be  relied  upon 
in  case  of  attack  to  hold  his  post  to  the  last  extremity-^ 
only  yielding  it  with  his  life  or  when  shot  down  and 
incapable  of  further  resistance.  When  a  private  soldier 
is  equal  to  all  these  requirements  he  is  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  word  "  a  regular."  The  earliest  recruits  of  our 
regular  army  after  the  war  of  the  Revolution  were 
generally  natives  of  our  country;  though  a  few  of  them 
were  born  in  England  and  Germany,  still  the  majority 
of  them  were  Americans,  and  frontier  life  was  an  at- 
tractive one  to  those  who  cared  to  enter  the  service,  in 
that  it  had  in  it  strong  elements  of  adventure  heavily 
spiced  with  danger,  and  men  who  were  fascinated  with 
life  in  the  woods  or  on  the  trail  naturally  drifted  into  it. 
They  were  in  no  general  sense  educated  men;  in  truth, 
the  surroundings  of  those  days  did  not  afford  poor  men 
the  opportunity  for  even  a  limited  education,  and  the 
old  army  records  exhibit  the  fact  that  some  of  them 
were  too  illiterate  to  sign  their  names.  Nevertheless 
they  were  good  soldiers,  and  outside  of  books  knew 
much  of  woodcraft  and  Indian  signs,  and  sensed  danger 
with  an  almost  unerring  accuracy  and  were  rarely 
caught  napping  by  their  wily  savage  foes. 

Let  us  take  a  look  at  the  soldier  of  thirty  years 
ago,  and  in  this  chapter  soldier  means  the  enlisted  man. 
He  was  a  cosmopolite,  at  least  as  regards  nationality; 
for  in  no  other  army  were  members  of  so  many  coun- 


92  THE-  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

tries  together  as  in  that  of  the  United  States.  In 
a  single  post,  even  in  a  single  company,  the  nations  of 
the  civilized  world  were  represented.  An  Italian  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder  with  a  Scandinavian;  an  Irishman 
and  a  Russian  were  "bunkies,"  while  an  Englishman 
would  discuss  with  a  German  the  merits  of  a  Chilian 
comrade;  occasionally  there  was  a  son  of  Israel;  and 
always,  general  belief  to  the  contrary,  a  very  large  per- 
centage of  Americans.  Not  only  all  nationalities,  but 
also  all  occupations  and  stations  in  life  were  repre- 
sented. In  any  hundred  men  one  would  find  craftsmen 
of  all  kinds — clerks,  tillers  of  the  soil,  roughs,  etc.  A 
bookkeeper  and  a  farm  boy,  a  dentist  and  a  blacksmith, 
a  young  gentleman  of  position  trying  to  gain  a  commis- 
sion and  a  salesman  ruined  by  drink,  an  ivory  carver 
and  a  Bowery  tough — were  all  in  a  detachment  that 
one  December  morning  in  1865  escorted  a  wagon  train 
along  the  South  Pass  road.  But  the  last  thirty  years 
has  brought  a  change  in  one  respect,  and  that  is,  that 
while,  taken  as  a  class,  the  enlisted  men  of  the  regular 
army  of  to-day  are  not  one  whit  more  brave  or  devoted 
to  their  country  than  the  soldiers  of  the  army  in  years 
gone  by,  they  are  nevertheless  men  of  greater  general 
intelligence  and,  in  a  certain  sense,  men  of  better  tone 
than  those  who  have  preceded  them.  Perhaps  this  is 
owing  to  the  fact  that  the  education  of  the  public 
schools  has  given  greater  opportunity  to  the  masses, 
and  the  further  fact  that  the  use  of  intoxicants  in  both 
civil  and  military  life  has  greatly  diminished  within  the 
last  forty  years.  Whisky  as  a  ration  in  the  army  has 
entirely  disappeared,  and  is  no  longer  a  portion  of  the 
army  supplies  in  the  commissariat.  Then,  again,  the 
standard  for  recruits  has  been  steadily  raised  for  many 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER.       93 

years  past.  The  army  recruiting  officer  of  to-day  would 
unhesitatingly  refuse  to  enlist  a  man  regarding  whom 
forty  years  ago  there  would  have  been  no  question 
whatever.  He  must  be  thoroughly  sound,  sober,  intelli- 
gent, of  good  character,  and,  unless  a  man  of  wonder- 
fully fine  physique,  the  fact  that  he  could  not  read  or 
write  would  probably  be  a  bar  to  his  being  enrolled, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there  are  fairly  good 
schools  at  most  of  the  army  posts  where  enlisted  men 
can  easily  obtain  the  rudiments  of  an  English  educa- 
tion. Many  of  the  privates  in  our  army  are  men  of 
really  good  education,  not  infrequently  college  gradu- 
ates, who  have  enlisted  in  the  hope  of  winning  a  com- 
mission or  solely  from  a  love  of  military  life. 

The  short  term  of  service  (three  years)  which  is  now 
the  law  has  attracted  a  class  of  men  who  would  not 
"  take  on "  when  the  term  was  five,  seven,  and  nine 
years.  The  enlisted  man  with  whom  we  will  have  to 
do,  however,  was,  as  I  have  said,  of  a  somewhat  differ- 
ent class,  and  his  surroundings  and  his  duties,  too,  were 
a  bit  more  arduous  and  dangerous  during  life  on  the 
frontier  for  the  past  fifty  years  than  they  are  at  pres- 
ent, but  no  matter  whether  enlisted  as  a  private  or 
commissioned  as  an  officer  a  man  must  have  certain 
essential  characteristics  in  his  being  who  is  enamoured 
of  a  soldier's  career  and  willing  to  stake  his  life  and 
cast  in  his  lot,  for  good  or  evil,  for  weal  or  woe,  with 
the  defenders  of  his  country. 

The  qualifications  of  a  soldier  are  courage,  good 
health,  implicit  obedience,  application,  patience,  and 
persistence.  These  qualifications  will  make  any  man  a 
good  average  soldier.  If  to  these  you  add  natural  mili- 
tary ability,  or,  if  you  please,  genius,  enthusiasm,  quick 


94  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

intelligence,  untiring  energy,  an  even  temper,  inflexible 
integrity,  constant  study,  and  a  very  temperate  life, 
you  will  have  all  the  elements  of  a  great  soldier,  but 
great  soldiers,  like  poets,  are  "  born,  not  made/'  The 
pay  of  the  enlisted  man  in  the  army  of  the  United 
States  in  our  day  is  better  and  the  clothing  allowance, 
as  well  as  the  ration,  much  more  liberal  and  abundant 
than  that  of  any  other  army  in  the  world.  The  pay  of  a 
private  in  the  cavalry,  infantry,  and  artillery  regiments 
is  as  follows:  For  the  first  and  second  year  of  enlist- 
ment, $13  per  month;  for  the  third  year,  $14;  for  the 
fourth  year,  $15;  for  the  fifth  year,  $16;  and  thereafter, 
while  in  continuous  service,  $18  per  month  for  the 
next  five  years,  with  an  additional  $1  per  month  for 
each  subsequent  period  of  five  years'  continuous  service. 
The  pay  of  corporal  ranges  in  the  same  ratio  from  $15 
to  $20  per  month,  according  to  length  of  service,  and 
that  of  duty  sergeant  from  $18  to  $23  per  month.  First 
sergeants  are  paid  from  $25  to  $30  per  month,  according 
to  length  of  service.  During  service  in  time  of  war 
Congress  has  authorized  an  increase  of  twenty  per  cent 
additional  to  the  pay  of  all  enlisted  men  on  active  serv- 
ice during  the  continuance  of  hostilities.  After  twen- 
ty-five years'  continuous  service  with  record  for  good 
character  throughout  the  term,  if  he  so  elects,  an  en- 
listed man  can  apply  to  be  placed  upon  the  retired  list 
of  the  army  with  two  thirds  pay  and  commuted  allow- 
ances, which  gives  him  for  the  rest  of  his  life  from 
$25  to  $28  per  month,  according  to  the  grade  on  which 
he  was  retired.  The  clothing  allowance  in  our  army 
is  relatively  as  liberal  as  the  pay,  and,  unless  the  soldier 
is  recklessly  careless  of  his  clothes,  more  than  sufficient 
for  his  comfort  and  his  need.  Each  article  of  this  cloth- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER.       95 

ing  has  its  money  value,  and  is  as  follows:  For  the  first 
year's  allowance,  $66.97;  second  year,  $29.70;  third 
year,  $38.32;  total  for  the  three  years,  $134.99.  As 
each  enlisted  man  enters  the  service  he  is  permitted 
to  draw  what  is  absolutely  necessary  at  the  recruiting 
rendezvous,  but  does  not  get  a  full  outfit  until  he  joins 
his  regiment.  An  accurate  account  is  kept  of  all  cloth- 
ing issued  him  in  the  company  clothing  book,  and  he  is 
obliged  to  receipt  for  every  article  issued  him  on  the 
page  of  the  book  allotted  his  account,  and  his  receipt 
has  to  be  witnessed  by  the  officer  or  noncommissioned 
officer  who  issues  the  clothing.  At  the  end  of  each 
year  of  his  enlistment  the  account  is  carefully  made  up. 
If  he  has  overdrawn  his  allowance  he  has  to  pay  the 
money  value  of  what  he  has  overdrawn — that  is,  it  is 
charged  against  his  pay  and  deducted  by  the  paymaster 
when  he  is  next  paid.  If,  on  the  contrary,  there  is  a 
balance  due  him,  it  is  placed  to  his  credit,  and  at  the 
expiration  of  his  term  of  service  is  paid  him  in  his  final 
settlement  with  the  Government.*  In  quarters,  and 
as  far  as  possible  in  the  field,  the  daily  meat  ration  of 


*  The  total  allowance  of  clothing  for  a  private  in  the  army  for 
his  first  enlistment  of  three  years  is:  One  overcoat,  two  uniform 
dress  coats,  three  woollen  blouses,  three  canvas  fatigue  blouses, 
seven  pairs  uniform  trousers,  seven  pairs  kersey  trousers,  three 
pairs  canvas  fatigue  trousers,  three  pairs  overalls,  seven  dark 
blue  woollen  shirts,  nine  undershirts,  nine  pairs  drawers,  thirty- 
six  linen  collars,  twelve  pairs  cotton  and  twelve  pairs  woollen 
socks,  nine  pairs  shoes  for  the  infantry  and  two  pairs  boots  and 
five  pairs  shoes  for  the  cavalry,  four  fatigue  caps,  three  campaign 
hats,  two  helmets,  two  pairs  woollen  blankets,  twenty-four  pairs 
white  gloves,  three  pairs  suspenders.  In  addition  to  the  above, 
the  cavalry  have  furnished  them  two  pairs  leather  gauntlets  and 
two  stable  frocks. 


96  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  soldier  consists  of  a  pound  and  a  quarter  of  fresh 
beef  or  mutton,  or  three  quarters  of  a  pound  of  fresh 
pork  or  bacon,  or  one  pound  and  six  ounces  of  salt  beef. 
When  it  is  possible  to  furnish  fish,  the  daily  ration  is 
fourteen  ounces  of  dried  fish,  or  eighteen  ounces  of 
pickled  or  fresh  fish.  The  bread  ration  is  one  pound 
and  two  ounces  of  soft  bread  or  one  pound  of  hard 
bread  (hard  biscuit),  or  in  lieu  thereof  one  pound  and 
two  ounces  of  flour,  or  one  pound  and  four  ounces 
of  cornmeal.  For  vegetables,  there  is  an  ample 
allowance  of  beans  or  dried  peas,  or  rice  or  hom- 
iny, or  fresh  potatoes  or  onions.  In  winter  canned 
tomatoes,  cabbage,  beets,  etc.,  are  also  furnished.  The 
allowance  of  roasted  coffee  is  one  ounce  and  seven 
twenty-fifths  of  an  ounce,  and  of  tea  eight  twenty- 
fifths  of  an  ounce — ample  to  make  each  day  three  pints 
of  strong  coffee  or  the  same  amount  of  strong  tea,  and 
"  soldier's  coffee  "  in  our  army  has  passed  into  a  proverb 
as  exemplifying  the  best  coffee  that  can  be,  or,  in  fact, 
is  made.  So  liberal  is  the  ration  that  when  in  barracks, 
where  rations  are  issued  in  bulk  and  cooked  economical- 
ly, it  is  simply  impossible  for  the  enlisted  men  of  any 
company  to  consume  its  authorized  allowance,  and  all 
savings,  or,  in  other  words,  all  rations  not  used,  are  re- 
purchased by  the  post  commissary  at  the  first  cost  to 
the  Government,  or,  if  a  better  price  can  be  had  from 
outsiders,  sold  to  citizens,  and  the  sum  so  obtained 
taken  up  and  credited  to  the  company  fund,  which  is, 
under  the  administration  of  the  company  commander, 
after  being  duly  audited  by  the  post  or  regimental  coun- 
cil, expended  in  purchasing  luxuries,  such  as  fruit,  but- 
ter, milk,  eggs,  etc.,  to  give  greater  variety  to  the  com- 
pany mess  or  for  the  benefit  of  the  men  in  the  way  of 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER.       97 

table  furniture  of  a  more  aesthetic  type  than  that  fur- 
nished hy  the  quartermaster's  department. 

In  the  cavalry  arm  of  the  service,  while  the  troops 
hereafter  referred  to  were  serving  in  barracks  on  the 
Southwestern  frontier,  the  writer  has  known  of  a  cer- 
tain particular  troop  of  cavalry  whose  company  fund 
had  been  very  carefully  looked  after,  who  were  enabled 
from  the  savings  on  rations  and  from  their  share  of  the 
canteen  fund  to  supply  themselves  with  a  very  complete 
table  set  of  fine  white  china,  which  had  their  company 
letter  placed  over  crossed  sabres  burned  into  each  piece, 
forming  a  dainty  monogram,  with  which  decorated  china 
their  table  was  set  out  in  a  way  that  was  as  pleasant 
to  look  at  as  it  was  rare  to  see,  and  these  men  made 
none  the  less  good  soldiers  in  time  of  stress  from  the 
fact  that  when  in  post  they  were  regarded  as  something 
of  "  swells  "  in  barracks.*  There  is  another  source  of 
food  supply  that  in  all  well-regulated  garrisons  on  the 
frontier  adds  greatly  to  the  comfort  of  the  enlisted 
men.  I  allude  to  the  post  and  company  gardens.  These 
are  generally  under  the  supervision  of  the  post  adju- 
tant or  the  regimental  commissary.  They  are  located  at 
some  accessible  point  near  the  post,  and  each  company 
commander  details  one  man  as  company  gardener,  who 
is  relieved  from  post  guard  duty  while  acting  in  that 
capacity.  From  the  post  fund  seeds  of  all  kinds 
that  will  mature  in  that  locality  are  purchased,  and 
in  due  season  peas,  beans,  lettuce,  tomatoes,  onions, 
beets,  cucumbers,  cabbages,  radishes,  and  melons  are 
produced  in  abundance.  Occasionally  post  gardens 

*  The  troop  of  the  late  Major-General  Henry  W.  Lawton,  at 
that  time  a  captain  in  the  Fourth  Cavalry,  stationed  at  Fort 
Huachuca,  Arizona  Territory. 


98  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

have  an  oversupply  of  fresh  vegetables,  which  are 
sold  and  the  proceeds  added  to  the  company  fund. 
As  a  matter  of  course,  when  troops  are  on  active  cam- 
paign it  may  be  under  certain  adverse  circumstances 
simply  impossible  that  the  men  should  at  all  times  re- 
ceive the  full  ration,  or  even  half  rations,  and  there  are 
times  in  the  life  of  the  soldier  that  he  has  to  suffer 
hunger  and  sometimes  thirst,  which  is  far  worse  than 
hunger,  and  is  compelled  to  march  until  he  falls  abso- 
lutely exhausted  by  the  wayside,  only  to  be  forced  to 
his  feet  as  soon  as  a  few  moments'  rest  has  partially  re- 
cuperated his  worn-out  energies  and  he  is  again  com- 
pelled to  push  forward  until  he  once  more  falls,  only 
to  be  again  commanded,  entreated,  urged,  cursed,  and 
even  driven  forward  with  blows  by  his  officers,  who 
themselves,  staggering  with  exhaustion,  do  not  dare 
give  way  for  an  instant,  as  they  know  full  well  the  ter- 
rible need  of  re-enforcements  to  a  beleaguered  outpost, 
a  lonely  ranchman,  or  on  a  raging  battlefield,  where 
the  opportune  arrival  of  even  a  single  regiment  may 
be  the  turning  weight  that  gives  courage  to  despair 
and  wrings  victory  from  defeat;  for  no  matter  how 
exhausted  your  regular  may  be  when  he  reaches  the 
battlefield,  by  all  the  manhood  in  him  he  is  safe  to 
fight  desperately  for  the  victory  of  his  country's  arms, 
and  if  need  be  die  gloriously  for  the  honour  of  her  flag. 
When  in  barracks  on  the  frontier  most,  if  not  all, 
of  the  companies  mess  by  themselves.  Each  company 
has  a  regularly  enlisted  cook,  who,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  company,  has  from  one  to  three  assistants,  who 
are  detailed  from  the  men  of  the  company  in  turn 
every  two  weeks  to  help  in  cooking.  This  serves  a 
good  purpose,  as  in  time  it  teaches  all  the  men  how  to 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER.       99 

cook,  a  very  necessary  thing  on  active  service.  Three 
meals  are  served  each  day — breakfast  at  7  A.  M.,  dinner 
at  12.30,  and  supper  at  6  p.  M.  It  is  part  of  the  duty 
of  some  one  of  the  commissioned  officers  of  each  com- 
pany to  inspect  the  kitchen,  the  cooking,  and  the  food 
of  that  company  each  day,  and  the  adjutant  or  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  post  is  liable  to  drop  into  the 
kitchen  of  any  or  all  the  companies  at  any  time.  In 
fact,  both  of  them  do  so  frequently,  and  woe  betide 
the  cook  whose  kitchen,  dining  tables,  tableware,  and 
culinary  utensils  are  not  clean  and  neat  and  whose 
food  is  not  well  and  palatably  prepared.  Tableware 
consisting  of  an  ample  allowance  of  neat  white  iron- 
stone china  is  furnished  each  company  when  in  bar- 
racks by  the  quartermaster's  department.  Each  indi- 
vidual enlisted  man  is  supplied  with  dinner  and  soup 
plates,  a  bowl,  cup  and  saucer,  drinking  tumbler,  and 
silver-plated  knife  and  fork,  tablespoons  and  teaspoons. 
The  table  furniture  consists  of  meat  platters,  gravy 
boats,  vegetable  dishes,  sugar  bowls,  water  pitchers, 
pickle  dishes,  salt  cellars,  syrup  jugs,  pepper  boxes,  etc. 
In  fact,  the  outfit  furnished  for  the  men's  tables  as  well 
as  the  cooking  utensils  for  kitchen  service  is  not  only 
sufficient,  but  most  liberal.  No  other  government  in 
the  world  cares  for  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  its 
enlisted  men  in  the  matter  of  an  abundance  of  good 
food  and  neat  table  service  as  does  our  own.  Meals  are 
served  in  the  company  dining  rooms  on  neat  pine  or 
deal  tables,  which  are  carefully  scrubbed  several  times 
each  week  until  they  become  of  astonishing  whiteness 
and  look  exquisitely  clean  and  neat.  The  men  sit 
down  to  them  on  benches  placed  at  the  side  and  gener- 
ally a  corporal  occupies  the  head  of  each  table.  The 


100  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

senior  noncommissioned  officers  ordinarily  eat  in  the 
large  dining  room,  but  at  a  separate  table,  and  not  in- 
frequently, at  their  individual  expense,  their  own  table 
is  set  out  with  tablecloth  and  napkins.  There  is  not 
the  slightest  difficulty  in  an  enlisted  man  in  our  army 
saving  money  from  his  pay  if  he  is  inclined  to  do  so, 
and  most  of  them  also  have  a  balance  due  them  on  their 
clothing  allowance  at  the  end  of  their  term  of  service, 
and  the  fact  that  they  can  save  something  in  this  direc- 
tion is  a  great  incentive  to  neatness  and  good  care  of 
their  clothing  while  in  barracks  or  on  the  march.  It 
also  teaches  them  to  mend  and  look  out  for  any  stitches 
that  give  way  or  buttons  that  come  off  and  makes  them 
just  so  much  better  and  smarter  looking  soldiers. 

There  is  one  other  advantage  which  the  enlisted 
men  of  the  army  have,  and  that  is,  by  an  especial  act  of 
Congress,  they  are  permitted  to  deposit  their  savings  at 
the  pay  table  with  the  pay  department  of  the  army, 
and  a  pass  book  is  given  them  containing  the  individual 
receipt  of  each  army  paymaster  with  whom  they  de- 
posit. This  money  can  not  be  withdrawn  until  their 
term  of  enlistment  expires  and  they  are  discharged 
from  the  army,  and  their  deposit  draws  interest  at  the 
rate  of  four  per  cent  per  annum.  It  is  the  earnest 
desire  of  every  troop,  company,  and  battery  commander 
in  the  army  to  have  every  man  of  his  command  a  de- 
positor with  the  pay  department,  for  if  he  can  once  in- 
duce a  man  to  open  a  deposit  account,  no  matter  how 
inefficient  or  how  good  he  has  heretofore  been,  he  be- 
comes a  better  soldier  in  the  course  of  time.  He  spends 
less  at  the  outside  saloons  or  in  the  canteen,  keeps  out 
of  mischief  that  a  court-martial  may  not  impose  a  fine, 
is  careful  of  his  clothes,  and  as  he  can  not  draw  his  de- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOLDIER.     101 

posit  until  his  discharge  is  safe  not  to  be  a  deserter.  In 
the  light  of  bettering  his  condition  and  getting  a  start 
in  life  a  young,  unmarried  labouring  man  without  a 
trade  can  hardly  do  so  well  in  any  other  capacity.  He 
can  easily  save  ten  dollars  per  month  of  his  pay,  and  by 
decent  economy  as  much  as  $25  or  $30  on  his  clothing 
allowance  during  his  term  of  three  years'  service.  This 
would  give  him  at  the  expiration  of  his  first  enlistment 
of  three  years  the  following:  $10  per  month  for  thirty- 
six  months,  $360;  saving  on  clothing,  say  $25;  interest 
on  saving  deposit  with  the  Government,  $21;  travel 
pay  and  allowance  on  discharge,  $25 — say  $415.  Dur- 
ing this  time  the  soldier  has  had  over  $110  to  spend 
on  himself  outside  of  what  he  has  saved,  which,  consid- 
ering the  fact  that  he  is  clothed,  housed,  and  fed  at  the 
expense  of  the  Government,  and  if  sick  well  cared  for 
in  the  post  hospital,  with  no  loss  of  time  or  expense  to 
himself  for  medical  attendance,  is,  or  should  be,  ample. 
Say  that  he  enlisted  at  eighteen  and  leaves  the  service 
at  twenty-one,  he  is  the  possessor  of  a  capital  of  over 
$400 — possibly,  if  he  has  been  a  good  soldier  and  made 
a  corporal,  $450.  He  has  been  well  set  up  physically. 
Has  had,  too,  if  he  has  so  desired,  the  advantage  of  a 
fairly  good  school,  has  been  taught  to  be  neat  in  per- 
son, prompt  and  obedient  in  the  execution  of  orders, 
courteous  and  respectful  in  demeanour,  and  careful  and 
considerate  of  speech,  and  if  he  lives  to  be  an  old  man 
will  unconsciously  bear  himself  in  a  quiet,  dignified, 
and  self-possessed  way  that  will  be  of  distinct  advan- 
tage to  the  end  of  his  life.  If  there  is  any  other  way 
in  which  the  average  young  labouring  man  without  a 
trade  can  surely  do  as  well  for  himself  in  the  same 
time  the  writer  does  not  know  of  it. 
8 


CHAPTER   VI. 

FRONTIER   FORTS,    OLD   AND   NEW,    AND    THEIR    SOLDIER 
OCCUPANTS. 

STRETCHING  far  away  until  it  meets  the  horizon  at 
some  distant  point,  or  merges  into  blue  hazy  mountains 
at  others,  is  a  monotonously  level  plain  sparsely  cov- 
ered with  dingy  grass  and  low  bushy  greasewood.  On 
the  bank  of  a  stream,  which  is  outlined  by  a  line  of 
trees  or  high  bushes  and  set  wifhin  a  stockade,  you 
can  perceive  a  cluster  of  wooden  houses  inclosing  a 
plot  of  ground,  which  on  approaching  and  entering 
you  will  find  to  be  as  neatly  kept  as  circumstances  will 
permit. 

It  is  an  old-time  average  frontier  fort,  built  by 
the  labour  of  the  troops.  The  officers'  line  of  quarters 
is  on  one  side  of  the  parade  ground,  as  the  inclosed 
space  is  named.  It  consists  of  a  row  of  small  cottages 
containing  from  three  to  four  rooms.  On  the  opposite 
side  are  the  enlisted  men's  barracks,  several  long,  low, 
one-storied,  solid-looking  log  buildings  with  porches  in 
front,  and  behind  them  are  the  mess  houses,  sim- 
ilar in  design,  but  smaller.  In  the  centre  of  the 
parade  ground  a  somewhat  imposing  structure  is 
known  as  the  post  commander's  house.  On  the  third 
side  is  the  neat  little  administration  building  contain- 
102 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  103 

ing  the  various  administrative  offices,  flanked  by  ware- 
houses in  which  are  stored  quartermaster  and  subsist- 
ence stores.  On  the  fourth  is  the  sombre-looking 
guardhouse,  small  but  strong.  On  an  open  space  be- 
tween the  guardhouse  and  the  end  of  the  officers'  row 
an  old  field  piece  or  two,  rotting  with  rust  and  dust, 
point  at  the  horizon. 

A  little  distance  off  on  the  plateau,  standing  by 
itself,  is  the  hospital;  and  likewise  apart,  in  an  unob- 
trusive manner,  is  the  trader's  or  sutler's  store,  which, 
until  the  establishment  of  the  canteen  a  few  years  ago, 
was  the  soldier's  lounging  place.  Down  under  the  bank 
near  to  the  water's  edge  the  cavalry  and  quartermaster's 
stables  stand  in  a  row,  and  not  far  from  them  are  the 
wagon  sheds  and  the  various  shops  where  the  manual 
labour  of  the  garrison  is  performed.  Somewhere  be- 
tween the  stream  and  the  bluff  is  a  group  of  two- 
roomed  cabins,  commonly  eked  out  by  tents.  They  are 
the  quarters  of  the  married  enlisted  men.  In  regions 
where  hostile  Indians  are  formidable  the  fort  was  gen- 
erally partly  or  completely  inclosed  by  a  log  stockade. 
In  the  North,  army  posts  were  usually  built  of  logs,  in 
the  South  of  adobes,  which  are  sun-dried  bricks.  From 
the  head  of  a  staff,  rising  straight  and  white  from  the 
parade,  was  a  garrison  flag  proclaiming  to  all  the  pres- 
ence of  the  soldier. 

Picture  the  foregoing  and  you  will  have  an  idea, 
faint  perhaps,  of  what  the  average  old  frontier  fort 
was  like  forty  or  fifty  years  ago. 

The  soldier,  it  may  be  said,  took  possession  of  the 
West  beyond  the  Missouri  Eiver  when  early  in  the 
nineteenth  century  he  began  to  establish  posts  there  for 
a  permanent  stay.  Before  then  he  had  explored  and 


104:  THE  STOEY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

surveyed  its  vague  wastes,  with  no  ultimate  intention, 
however,  of  making  them  his  home;  and  had  escorted 
caravans  on  their  way  to  and  from  Mexico  over  the 
Santa  Fe  trail,  thankful,  no  doubt,  that  he  was  only  an 
escort,  and  prophesying,  after  the  fashion  of  that  day, 
that  the  land  now  teeming  with  varied  industries 
would  never  boast  a  white  population. 

But  the  trend  of  advancing  civilization  was  west- 
ward, and  the  mysterious  region  beyond  the  Eocky 
Mountains  ever  attracted  the  restless,  and  eventually 
the  discovery  of  gold  caused  a  stampede  toward  the 
setting  sun.  New  conditions  arose,  Fort  Leavenworth, 
on  the  bank  of  the  Missouri,  and  the  few  other  forts  in 
the  South  and  West  were  no  longer  equal  to  the  de- 
mands upon  them,  and  in  the  Northwest  the  thousands 
who  were  struggling  along  the  Oregon  trail  had  to  be 
protected  from  both  the  Indian  and  the  white  ma- 
rauder. For  this  purpose  Congress  decreed  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  line  of  posts.  Fort  Kearney,  at  Grand 
Island,  on  the  Platte  Eiver,  about  three  hundred  miles 
northwest  of  Fort  Leavenworth,  led  the  way  in  1847. 
Fort  Laramie,  located  in  Wyoming  and  purchased  from 
a  fur  company,  was  the  second,  a  year  later.  Fort 
Bridger  was  soon  selected  as  the  third  station  on  the 
route,  and  at  the  time  of  the  Mormon  expedition  became 
an  important  point.  Fort  Hall,  in  Idaho,  was  the 
fourth,  and  the  chain  stretched  across  half  a  continent. 
In  1851,  under  the  torrid  sun  of  Arizona,  Major  Heint- 
zelman  built  Fort  Yuma  on  the  site  of  the  old  Spanish 
mission  on  the  Gila  Eiver,  in  order  to  protect  gold 
seekers  and  emigrants  from  Mexico  and  the  South 
from  Indians.  From  these  humble  beginnings  grew 
the  great  system  of  posts,  hundreds  in  number  by  1874, 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  105 

which  covered  the  West  and  took  an  important  part  in 
its  settlement. 

A  military  necessity  for  the  soldier's  presence  at  a 
certain  point  arose,  and  orders  were  issued  for  a  post 
to  be  built.  A  command  was  marched  out,  say  on  to 
the  wide  plain  far  from  every  one  else,  and  halted  be- 
side a  stream.  It  had  been  told  to  "  build  a  post,"  and 
a  post  was  built.  All  the  labour  of  constructing  it  was 
done  by  the  command,  and  with  the  few  supplies  pro- 
curable wonders  were  accomplished.  There  was  no  time 
to  wait  for  the  slow  processes  of  acts  of  Congress  and 
appropriation  bills.  And  so  small  frontier  forts  were 
created  in  this  manner  all  over  the  West. 

These  posts  were  badly  needed,  and  needed  at  once, 
for  many  purposes.  There  were  settlements  to  be  pro- 
tected until  they  were  able  to  take  care  of  themselves, 
roads  to  be  opened,  and  travellers  to  be  guarded.  Indi- 
ans were  to  be  held  in  check  and  compelled  to  remain 
on  their  reserves,  and  depots  maintained  at  favourable 
points.  So  these  stations  were  constructed  by  the  sol- 
diers on  wind-swept  plains,  in  lonely  mountain  passes, 
on  desolate  hillsides,  in  groves  on  the  banks  of  swift- 
flowing  rivers,  and  in  sunny  valleys  at  the  foot  of  snow- 
clad  mountain  peaks. 

For  the  time  being,  and  until  the  necessity  for  their 
existence  had  passed  away,  they  were  the  soldier's 
home.  From  them  he  went  out  to  the  labours  and 
the  dangers  of  the  field;  he  brought  his  bride  to  them; 
his  children  were  born  in  them;  and  often  he  was  bur- 
ied in  the  cemetery  just  outside  of  them.  A  thousand 
memories  cluster  about  the  oldest  of  these  frontier 
forts,  and  the  life  there  is  looked  back  to  by  many  a 
white-haired  man  on  the  retired  list  of  the  army  "  with 


106  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

a  feeling  of  sadness  and  longing  that  is  hardly  akin 
to  pain/'  It  was  a  life  of  many  deprivations,  but  also 
of  many  simple  pleasures,  and  it  bred  men  who  gave  a 
good  account  of  themselves  on  both  sides  when  our 
great  civil  war  came. 

At  the  depots  of  military  supplies  and  in  the  large 
posts  on  the  railway  lines  of  travel  affairs  were  con- 
ducted as  they  generally  are  at  all  military  stations. 
The  routine  went  on  day  after  day,  and  the  only  evi- 
dence of  the  frontier  was  the  distance  from  the  homes 
"  back  East/*'  It  was  different  in  the  posts  on  the  Indi- 
an reservations,  or  at  lonely  points  far  out  on  the 
plains,  or  in  the  mountains  beyond  all  the  usual  routes 
of  travel  and  outside  of  the  abodes  of  civilization.  They 
were  garrisoned  by  from  one  to  four  companies,  usually 
by  two  companies,  and  life  in  them-  was  one  long  sea- 
son of  watching  and  waiting.  Either  the  hard  hand 
of  monotony  weighed  heavily  or  an  ever  present  danger 
and  the  need  of  unceasing  vigilance  kept  every  sense 
alert. 

The  necessity  that  created  many  of  them  has  ceased 
to  exist.  Old  Fort  Kearney,  Fort  Bridger,  Fort  Hall, 
and  Fort  Laramie  of  the  West  and  South  were  aban- 
doned years  ago.  Out  of  ninety-three  army  posts  and 
cantonments  that  were  occupied  by  the  army  along  the 
Southwestern,  the  Northwestern,  and  California  and 
Oregon  frontier  in  1868  but  forty  are  garrisoned  to- 
day, and  some  of  these  are  only  temporarily  held  by  a 
sergeant's  guard.  Of  the  others,  they  are  mostly  ruins 
where  towns  do  not  flourish  on  their  sites,  and  in  some 
cases  the  ploughshare  has  obliterated  every  vestige  of 
them.  If  they  can  yet  be  distinguished,  one  finds  near 
at  hand  pathetic  little  graveyards  with  their  rows  of 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  107 

mounds.  The  headboards  marked  with  a  name  and  the 
date  and  the  cause  of  death,  which  once  stood  at  the 
top  of  each  gravte,  have  gone  the  way  of  the  crumbling 
bodies  below.  Perhaps  a  man  whose  heroic  death,  if 
known,  would  have  made  his  memory  famous,  moulders 
here,  and  if  one  remembering  him  should  seek  his  grave, 
it  would  be  found  unmarked,  if  found  at  all. 

These  cemeteries  tell  their  own  story.  There  was 
one  at  a  post,  long  since  abandoned,  where  the  epitaph 
"  Killed  by  Indians  "  was  on  all  but  three  of  over  one 
hundred  headboards. 

The  commandant  of  this  post  died  one  May  morn- 
ing, and  the  next  afternoon  his  funeral  cortege  moved 
out  across  the  bare  prairie  to  the  burying  ground,  five 
hundred  yards  from  the  stockade.  Dark  clouds  pressed 
heavily  on  the  black  hills  in  front,  relieved  only  now 
and  again  by  a  few  sickly  rays  of  sunlight,  which  served 
to  heighten  the  darkness  of  the  scene.  The  wind  as  it 
swept  by  carried  with  it  the  smoke  from  the  grasslands 
to  the  west,  fired  by  the  "  hostiles  "  a  day  or  two  before. 
Raindrops  fell  at  intervals  as  the  procession  moved  at 
common  time.  All  the  garrison  except  the  post  guard 
was  there,  mourning  the  dead  officer.  The  open  grave 
reached,  the  young  adjutant  read  the  burial  service, 
and  the  coffin  was  lowered  into  the  grave.  But  mean- 
while sharp  eyes  kept  a  lookout  to  see  that  no  surprise 
was  sprung,  and  that  the  Indians  did  not  avail  them- 
selves of  the  ravines  and  breaks  in  the  river  bank  to 
creep  up,  deliver  their  fire,  and  get  away  before  harm 
could  reach  them.  Every  rifle  had  its  bullet,  for  signal 
smoke  was  curling  up  from  the  high  butte  at  the  rear, 
as  well  as  the  low  hills  in  front.  All  the  while  dark 
specks  could  be  seen  moving  about  in  the  distance, 


108  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  occasionally  a  little  white  signal  cloud  would  show 
against  the  gray  sky.  When  the  companies  reformed  to 
return  the  dark  specks  swiftly  changed  into  objects, 
and  after  the  little  clouds  appeared  dull  reports  were 
heard.  The  specks  were  Indian  scouts  watching  the 
whites  and  signalling  to  their  friends.  Before  the 
stockade  was  reached  a  large  body  of  warriors,  in  alj 
the  glory  of  battle  array,  rode  out  upon  the  plain  from 
the  river  bottom  and  made  as  if  they  would  attack  the 
soldiers,  who  with  the  promptness  of  eager  desire  sud- 
denly halted  without  orders  to  allow  them  to  come  on. 
They  did  not  dare  to  venture  within  range,  however, 
but  contented  themselves  with  hurling  defiant  signs  at 
their  enemies  and  riding  away.  The  next  morning  at 
dawn  the  sentry  on  post  nearest  the  graveyard  saw 
what  he  thought  were  animals  of  .some  kind  moving 
about  the  fence  surrounding  it,  and  called  for  the  cor- 
poral of  the  guard  to  report  the  fact  to  him,  but  when 
the  corporal  came  it  was  light  enough  to  see  that  the 
animals  were  savages  tearing  down  the  pickets  to  get 
inside  of  the  inclosure.  In  a  few  minutes  a  band  of 
mounted  men  from  the  fort  bore  down  upon  them  and 
scattered  them  before  they  had  time  to  carry  out  their 
purpose,  whatever  it  was.  Thus  did  the  living  at  times 
have  to  fight  for  the  dead. 

Of  course  there  was  a  lighter  side  to  the  old  fron- 
tier garrison  life,  in  which  alarms  and  funeral  corteges 
had  no  part.  Soldiers  the  world  over  have  faced  life 
gaily.  Theirs  would  be  a  dull  lot  indeed  if  they  per- 
mitted its  dangerous  possibilities  to  lie  upon  it  like  a 
shadow.  On  the  frontier  they  made  the  most  of  their 
opportunities,  which,  to  be  sure,  were  not  great.  There 
were  dances,  dinner  and  card  parties,  private  theat- 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  109 

ricals,  and  anything  else  that  ingenuity  could  devise  to 
banish  tedium  and  relieve  monotony.  Social  inter- 
course, on  account  of  their  isolation  and  peculiar  experi- 
ences, was  without  formality;  companionship  begot 
friendship  and  affection.  To  have  lived  a  season  to- 
gether in  a  frontier  post  weaves  a  bond  that  is  never 
loosened.  The  heart  did  not  dry  up  in  the  thin  air  of 
the  plains.  Help  and  sympathy  were  always  ready 
when  needed.  Hospitality  was  a  virtue  that  exercise 
never  tired;  it  was  practised  in  a  way  that  gave  to  the 
wanderers  from  the  haunts  of  civilization  a  new  mean- 
ing to  the  word.  The  door  was  always  open,  whether 
it  was  an  entrance  to  a  house  or  a  cabin,  and  once  in- 
side of  it  only  the  choicest  it  could  produce  was  good 
enough  for  the  unexpected  guest. 

Although  a  great  deal  of  monotony  existed  in  fron- 
tier life,  yet  at  unexpected  times  in  unexpected  places 
there  would  occur  an  excitement  that  added  zest  to  all 
undertakings,  no  matter  how  commonplace  in  the  be- 
ginning, and  it  was  the  chief  charm  of  an  existence  that 
will  end  before  the  coming  century  is  fairly  begun.  As 
it  is,  not  much  of  it  remains  except  its  legends.  Oh,  the 
tales  those  old  abandoned  forts  could  tell  if  they  might 
only  step  forth  from  the  past  and  take  on  shape  and 
substance — tales  of  love,  tales  of  war,  tales  of  the  hunt, 
of  red  men  and  of  white  men,  tales  of  danger  and  of 
death,  of  peace  and  of  life!  They  know  them  all.  Ro- 
mance, chivalry,  and  heroism  once  lived  within  the 
walls  that  are  now  shapeless  mounds,  above  which  the 
sunflowers  bloom  in  riotous  luxuriance. 

To-day,  however,  the  name  fort  as  applied  to  the 
army  stations  still  in  existence  on  the  frontier  is  dis- 
tinctly a  misnomer,  which  has  obtained  from  co- 


110  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

lonial  days,  and  even  much  later,  when  our  troops, 
just  after  the  Revolution,  were  contending  against 
the  French  and  Spanish  colonists,  who  with  their 
Indian  allies  not  only  would  not  abandon  the  land 
we  had  wrested  from  the  English,  but  sought  to 
enlarge  their  boundaries  at  the  expense  of  our  territory, 
and  we  were  compelled  to  fortify  all  border  stations  by 
erecting  forts  in  the  shape  of  blockhouses  or  stockades. 
In  those  days  the  forests  were  generally  thick,  as  clear- 
ings and  openings  were  rare,  and  a  cantonment  estab- 
lished in  the  timber  that  was  likely  to  be  occupied  for 
any  length  of  time  would  probably  have  been  ap- 
proached, crept  up  to,  and  most  likely  attacked  under 
cover  of  the  woods,  through  its  dense  undergrowth,  be- 
fore the  soldiers  stationed  there  were  fully  aware  of  the 
presence  of  the  enemy. 

Such  conditions  do  not  obtain,  however,  on  the 
Western  plains,  and  the  civilian  who  for  the  first  time 
visits  a  frontier  fort  is  usually  surprised  at  what  he  sees 
and  apt  to  be  somewhat  disappointed  in  his  expecta- 
tions. Instead  of  bastioned  walls,  deep  ditches,  and 
grassy  ramparts,  from  which  frown  deep-throated  can- 
non, he  sees  before  him,  as  he  leisurely  approaches,  what 
at  first  sight  appears  to  be  a  small  village  set  well  out  in 
the  plain  or  possibly  at  its  edge  near  an  outlying  moun- 
tain generally  embowered  in  shade  trees,  with  a  tall  flag- 
staff in  its  centre,  from  which  floats  the  flag  of  his  coun- 
try. As  he  reaches  the  spot  he  will  probably  encounter 
an  armed  sentry,  quietly  pacing  up  and  down  before 
an  open-gated  roadway,  but  who,  if  he  is  a  reputable- 
looking  person,  says  nothing  and  offers  no  objection  to 
his  entering  the  fenced  inclosure.  The  roadway  has 
on  one  side  of  it  a  planked  sidewalk,  and  following  this 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW. 

he  soon  finds  himself  in  the  interior  of  the  fort,  or, 
strictly  speaking,  he  is  taking  his  first  view  of  a  frontier 
army  post,  for  in  most  cases  it  has  not  the  sign  of  a 
fortification  in  its  vicinity.  Looking  around  him,  he 
realizes  that  he  is  within  a  well-fenced,  large,  and  ordi- 
narily level  parallelogram.  Before  him  stretches  a 
neatly  kept  roadway  which  is  edged  by  a  board  sidewalk, 
upon  which  he  is  standing.  Fronting  this  road,  but 
set  well  back  from  it  and  neatly  fenced  in  from  the  road 
and  from  each  other,  is  a  long  line  of  detached  two- 
storied  houses,  each  with  a  deep  porch  covering  its 
front  and  with  a  flight  of  two  or  three  steps  leading 
up  its  centre  to  the  front  door.  On  the  opposite  side 
of  the  road  from  these  houses,  which  are  the  officers' 
quarters,  is  the  parade  ground,  a  large,  well-grassed, 
and  generally  splendidly  kept  greensward.  About  the 
middle  of  the  line  of  officers'  quarters  and  opposite  the 
flagstaff,  which  is  set  back  a  hundred  feet  or  thereabout 
within  the  parade  ground,  is  a  larger  and  rather  more 
imposing  house  than  the  others,  which  to  the  initiated 
signifies  that  it  is  the  residence  of  the  commanding 
officer.  At  the  foot  of  the  flagstaff  is  a  neat  band  stand, 
and  a  few  yards  away  is  ordinarily  a  twelve-pounder 
field  piece,  usually  one  of  the  old  Napoleon  brass  guns, 
now  out  of  date,  but  still  available  for  use  as  a  morn- 
ing and  evening  gun,  and  as  a  general  thing  it  is  about 
the  only  piece  of  heavy  ordnance  at  the  average  frontier 
post. 

The  officers'  quarters  all  front  the  parade  ground, 
and  opposite  them  and  at  the  other  side  of  the  gar- 
rison, also  facing  the  parade  ground  and  several  hun- 
dred yards  away,  are  the  company  barracks,  usually 
two  stories  in  height,  about  two  hundred  feet  in  length, 


112  THE  STOEY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  with  a  wide  porch  covering  the  front,  occupied 
by  the  enlisted  men,  which  quarters  are  aligned  and 
equidistant  from  each  other  upon  a  road  that  runs 
directly  in  front  of  them.  Sometimes  a  small  officelike 
building  divides  two  of  the  barrack  buildings  about 
the  centre  of  the  line,  which  is  known  as  the  adminis- 
tration building  or  adjutant's  office,  and  is  the  business 
office  of  the  commanding  officer,  and  not  far  distant  is 
the  solid-looking  guardhouse.  Ordinarily  one  end  of 
the  garrison  is  occupied  by  a  large  two-storied  building 
surrounded  by  wide  porches  well  fenced  in,  and  in  the 
midst  of  shade  trees,  which  is  the  post  hospital.  Usu- 
ally the  side  of  the  post  that  is  toward  the  main  trav- 
elled road,  through  which  supplies  are  brought,  is 
unguarded  during  the  daytime,  and  the  gate  is 
always  kept  open. 

Back  of  the  barracks  are  the  quartermaster's  and 
commissary  storehouses,  the  post  bakery,  and  the 
blacksmith  and  wagon  shops,  and  to  the  rear  of 
them,  generally  along  the  bank  of  the  stream  that 
flows  through  the  post,  for  most  army  posts  are  estab- 
lished on  a  stream  of  running  water,  are  located  the 
long  piles  of  cord  wood,  the  sheds,  the  cavalry  stables, 
and  the  quartermaster's  corral.  While  here  and  there 
in  sheltered  nooks  back  of,  or  on  one  side  of,  the  bar- 
racks are  small  houses  occupied  as  quarters  by  the  mar- 
ried noncommissioned  officers  and  privates  of  the  regi- 
ment on  duty  at  the  post,  a  few  of  whom  may  generally 
be  found  in  each  company.  For,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  married  men  are  not  desired  as  recruits,  nev- 
ertheless enlisted  men  are  permitted  to  marry  now  and 
then,  and  despite  the  fact  that  laundresses  are  not 
officially  recognised  by  army  regulations  and  are  no 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  113 

longer  carried  on  the  strength  of  the  company  nor  en- 
titled to  rations,  nevertheless  they  do  exist,  and  in  a 
semiofficial  way,  in  a  certain  sense,  are  recognised  as 
acceptable  adjuncts  to  a  garrison  in  post,  and  are  of  no 
little  service  outside  of  the  strict  letter  of  the  law,  for 
these  women  actually  are  the  laundresses  for  the  troops, 
do  the  men's  laundry  work  neatly,  and  at  most  reason- 
able rates,  are  most  dependable  in  cases  of  epidemic 
sickness,  and  almost  without  exception  are  kind-hearted, 
honest,  upright,  and  most  thoroughly  reputable  and 
respectable  women  in  all  the  relations  of  life. 

The  parade  ground  as  well  as  the  fences,  officers' 
quarters,  men's  barracks,  storehouses,  stables,  quarter- 
master's shops,  and  outlying  buildings,  and  all  the  roads 
and  paths  are  as  neat  as  it  is  possible  to  make  them.  As 
a  usual  thing,  the  officers'  quarters  and  barracks  are 
painted  white,  and  the  windows  of  the  officers'  quarters 
shaded  by  green  blinds,  and  all  the  fences,  sheds,  shops, 
and  stables  are  neatly  whitewashed.  Nothing  more 
thoroughly  exemplifies  the  old  saying  "a  place  for 
everything  and  everything  in  its  place  "  than  an  army 
post,  and  the  one  thing  that  more  than  any  other  idea 
first  impresses  a  visiting  civilian  is  the  exquisite  neat- 
ness that  prevails  everywhere.  If  the  post  is  one  of  a 
few  years'  standing,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  dooryards 
and  porches  of  the  officers'  quarters,  and  frequently  the 
barracks  of  the  enlisted  men,  will  be  embowered  in  vines 
and  flowers.  It  is  a  rare  exception  when  the  wives  of 
military  men  at  frontier  posts  are  not  fond  of  trees  and 
flowers,  and  do  not  spend  a  few  moments  each  day 
during  the  summer  season  in  personally  caring  for  them, 
with  the  result  that  garrisons  frequently  present  a  very 
homelike  and  restful  appearance. 


114:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

While  in  former  years  some  of  the  old  barracks  at 
posts  on  the  frontier  were  too  small,  poorly  constructed, 
illy  ventilated,  frequently  overcrowded,  generally  cold 
in  winter,  hot  in  summer,  and  despite  all  possible 
attempts  at  cleanliness  the  inmates  at  times  were 
"badly  bug  bitten  and  bedevilled/'  to-day,  in  almost 
every  fairly  modern  frontier  station  now  occupied  by 
our  troops,  especially  in  all  recently  built  army  posts, 
the  barracks  are  models  in  their  way,  and  every 
possible  attention  has  been  paid  to  comfort,  health, 
and  sanitation  in  their  construction.  Each  man  is  pro- 
vided with  a  neat  iron  bedstead,  a  good  mattress,  pillow, 
sheets,  pillow  cases,  and  blankets,  a  bag  for  soiled  linen, 
a  neat  box  for  his  clothes,  and  has  a  reasonable  amount 
of  space  in  which  to  dress,  as  well  as  hundreds  of  cubic 
feet  of  air  space  in  which  to  breathe,  and  each  dormi- 
tory is  provided  with  neat  and  comfortable  chairs,  and 
is  well  lighted,  heated,  and  properly  ventilated.  The 
wash  rooms  are  generally  furnished  with  running 
water  in  abundance  and  with  plenty  of  neat  tin  basins 
and  an  abundance  of  soap.  Each  man  has  his  own  tow- 
els, and,  if  practicable,  there  are  in  each  set  of  barracks 
one  or  more  bathrooms,  so  that  there  is  no  reasonable 
excuse  for  any  man  not  being  thoroughly  clean,  and  to 
his  credit,  be  it  said,  the  American  soldier  is  almost 
invariably  neat  and  clean  in  person  both  inside  and  out. 
In  fact,  he  could  not  long  remain  otherwise,  for  inspec- 
tion in  our  army  means  not  only  clean  arms,  equipment, 
and  uniform,  but  underclothing,  socks,  and  skin  as  well, 
so  that  if  a  man  should  succeed  in  passing  muster  with 
the  sergeant  of  his  squad,  and  the  first  sergeant  as  well 
(which,  by  the  bye,  in  ordinary  times  would  be  almost 
an  impossibility),  the  weekly  company  inspection  by  the 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  115 

company  commander  would  bring  him  up  with  a  round 
turn,  and  if  unclean  in  person  or  underclothing  he 
would  be  apt  to  come  to  grief  very  quickly. 

As  a  general  thing,  our  new  barracks  are  of  two 
stories,  the  upper  room  being  the  dormitory,  while  the 
first  story  is  used  for  noncommissioned  officers'  rooms, 
the  company  library  or  reading  room,  and  the  company 
dining  room,  as  well  as  the  kitchen,  pantry,  etc.  Let 
us  imagine  ourselves  looking  in  at  one  of  the  ordinary 
frontier  posts,  say  in  the  far  West  or  in  the  far  South- 
west. It  is  generally  made  up  of  infantry  and  cavalry, 
artillery  service  on  the  frontier  being  rare.  So,  if  you 
please,  we  will  take  the  headquarters  of  some  cavalry 
regiment,  with  say  eight  troops  of  cavalry,  the  regi- 
mental band,  and  four  companies  of  infantry  as  the 
garrison,  which  will  very  fairly  represent  some  one  of 
our  best  frontier  posts  during  the  past  ten  or  fifteen 
years. 

Now  the  routine  duties  of  a  military  post  go  far 
toward  the  making  of  a  good  soldier,  and  as  a  matter 
of  fact  they  are  much  more  arduous  and  wearing  than 
the  casual  observer  who  strolls  into  garrison  and  idly 
watches  the  evening  dress  parade  is  apt  to  consider 
them.  That  the  music  is  good,  the  whole  command  ex- 
quisitely neat  and  smart  in  appearance,  the  manual  of 
arms  delivered  with  snap,  energy,  and  clocklike  pre- 
cision, the  company  wheelings  the  very  perfection  of 
steadiness  and  almost  automatically  correct,  and  the 
march  past  executed  in  perfect  time  and  step,  with  cor- 
rect company  distance  and  splendid  alignment,  is, 
where  the  United  States  regulars  are  concerned,  always 
expected  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  yet  there  are  only 
three  other  nations  in  the  world  who  begin  to  do  the 


116  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

thing  approximately  well.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  this 
is  in  the  day's  work,  but  it  takes  a  good  average  day's 
work  to  lead  up  to  it,  therefore  suppose  we  search  out 
what  an  average  day's  work  at  a  frontier  post  consists 
in.  It  begins  at  4.30  A.  M.,  when  the  sergeant  of  the 
guard  wakes  up  the  cooks  and  kitchen  police  at  the 
various  sets  of  barracks  along  the  men's  line.  At  5.45 
A.  M.  the  first  call  for  the  trumpeters  is  sounded  by  the 
orderly  trumpeter,  who  is  detailed  each  succeeding  day 
from  among  the  regimental  trumpeters,  and  is  for  this 
tour  of  duty  especially  under  the  instruction  of  the 
post  adjutant  and  the  officer  of  the  day. 

At  6  A.  M.  the  first  call  for  reveille  by  all  the  trum- 
peters takes  place,  and  is  followed  by  reveille  at  6.10 
A.  M.,  at  the  first  note  of  which  the  garrison  flag  is 
raised  and  flung  to  the  breeze  by  the  sergeant  of  the 
guard.  The  trumpeters  are  usually  formed  at  the  foot 
of  the  flagstaff  on  this  occasion,  and  the  post  adjutant 
stands  near  them  to  receive  the  company  reports  after 
roll  call.  As  the  last  notes  of  reveille  die  away  all  of 
the  enlisted  men  of  the  post  not  on  guard  duty  or  es- 
pecially excused  may  be  seen  standing  in  two  lines 
faced  to  the  right  in  front  of  the  middle  of  each  set  of 
their  respective  barracks.  While  all  the  post  guard  not 
on  duty  at  this  time  is  drawn  up  in  the  same  manner 
in  front  of  the  guardhouse,  together  with  all  the  pris- 
oners confined  in  the  guardhouse  who  are  under  the 
immediate  charge  of  one  of  the  sergeants  of  the  guard, 
the  first  sergeant  of  each  company  first  fronts,  then 
dresses  the  line,  and  proceeds  to  call  the  roll.  At  its 
conclusion  he  turns,  faces  the  commissioned  officer  who 
is  attending  the  roll  call,  salutes,  and  makes  his  report 
that  the  company  is  present  or  accounted  for,  or,  if  oth- 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.     H7 

erwise,  as  the  case  may  be.  The  officer  acknowledges 
this  salute,  and  the  sergeant  then  turns  again  and 
faces  the  company  to  the  right  and  dismisses  it  to  bar- 
racks. The  officer  in  turn  now  proceeds  toward  the 
post  adjutant,  halts  at  a  proper  distance,  salutes,  and 
reports.  On  the  acknowledgment  of  his  report  he  goes 
back  to  his  quarters. 

The  post  adjutant  may  or  may  not  make  a  report 
to  the  commanding  officer  at  this  time,  according  to  the 
instructions  he  may  have  received,  but,  generally  speak- 
ing, unless  something  unusual  has  occurred  during  the 
night,  he  does  not  do  so,  but  goes  back  to  his  quarters. 
Mess  call  (breakfast)  is  sounded  at  6.30,  the  intervening 
time  between  reveille  and  mess  call  being  devoted  by 
the  enlisted  men  to  scrubbing  themselves,  shaking  out 
and  folding  up  their  bedding,  and  tidying  up  their  bar- 
racks. 

After  breakfast,  at  7.10,  comes  stable  call,  and  the 
men  of  the  cavalry  go  to  stables,  clean  them  up,  give 
the  horses  a  slight  dusting  only,  and  take  them  to  water 
— the  stable  guard  having  already  fed  them  immediate- 
ly at  the  first  note  of  reveille. 

If  there  is  to  be  mounted  drill  during  the  morning 
the  horses  are  taken  back  to  the  stables;  otherwise,  they 
are  sent  out  under  a  mounted  guard  to  graze  at  some 
selected  spot  within  the  reservation  and  within  trumpet 
call  from  post  headquarters.  A  few  years  since  at  each 
one  of  the  cavalry  stables  (if  the  post  was  in  an  Indian 
country)  could  be  seen  tied  near  each  stable  door  two 
or  three  horses  saddled  and  bridled  with  a  loaded  car- 
bine in  the  carbine  socket  of  each  saddle,  so  that  if  a 
sneaking  war  party  of  Sioux  or  Cheyenne  should  at- 
tempt to  cut  out  the  herd  the  stable  guard  could  mount 


118  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  dash  on  a  dead  run  to  the  herder's  assistance  at 
the  first  warning  note  of  some  one  of  the  company 
buglers,  who  was  always  detailed  as  a  member  of  the 
herd  guard  for  this  especial  purpose. 

At  7.30  sick  call  is  sounded,  and  all  men  who  are 
ailing  in  any  one  of  the  companies  are  sent  by  order  of 
the  first  sergeant  of  each  company  to  the  post  hospital 
under  charge  of  one  of  its  noncommissioned  officers. 

Here  they  are  examined  by  the  surgeon  and  treated 
according  to  the  degree  of  their  ailments. 

If  the  symptoms  are  serious,  the  men  are  placed  in 
hospital;  if  otherwise,  they  are  given  medicine,  sent 
back  to  their  quarters,  and  excused  from  guard  duty,  or 
if  there  is  only  a  very  slight  trouble  that  will  easily 
yield  to  treatment  they  are  given  the  necessary  medi- 
cine and  ordered  to  report  to  the  first  sergeant  for  light 
duty.  Of  course  now  and  then  some  inefficient  soldier 
is  a  malingerer,  but  the  army  surgeons  soon  detect  such 
cases,  and  an  unusually  bitter  dose  of  medicine,  taken 
on  the  spot  in  the  presence  of  the  surgeon,  together 
with  a  sharp  order  to  report  at  once  for  duty,  usually 
prevents  a  recurrence  of  the  experiment  by  the  out- 
witted shirk. 

Fatigue  call  is  at  7.30,  and  the  men  detailed  from 
each  company  for  fatigue — that  is,  cleaning  up  the 
post,  including  the  parade  ground,  roads,  sidewalks, 
rear  of  quarters  and  barracks,  etc. — assemble  at  the 
guardhouse,  and  then,  together  with  the  prisoners, 
all  under  charge  of  two  good  noncommissioned  officers, 
proceed  to  put  the  post  in  order  for  the  day.  They 
usually  have  a  couple  of  carts  or  an  army  wagon  in 
which  to  place  the  debris,  and  policing — as  sweeping 
and  cleaning  up  the  post  is  called  in  army  parlance — 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  H9 

is  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  undesirable  duties  a 
soldier  has  to  perform,  but  all  the  same  it  has  to  be 
done,  and  well  done,  too,  unless  the  detail  wishes  to 
fall  foul  of  the  post  adjutant  or  the  officer  of  the  day. 
A  dirty  post  is  not  tolerated  in  the  United  States  army. 
^1  propos  of  which,  the  writer  heard  an  amusing  story 
of  a  well-known  captain  of  the  Fifth  United  States  In- 
fantry who  has  since  joined  the  silent  majority.  He 
was  present,  together  with  other  visitors,  at  a  Sunday 
morning  inspection  of  a  certain  crack  regiment  in  one 
of  the  well-known  cities  of  Continental  Europe.  After 
the  troops  had  been  passed  in  review  the  visitors  were 
invited  to  inspect  the  barracks,  and  especially  the 
kitchens.  A  number  of  American  ladies  were  of  the 
party,  to  whom  the  captain  had  just  been  presented. 
It  was,  naturally  enough,  a  new  and  unusual  sight  to 
the  ladies,  and  they  were  very  enthusiastic.  One  of 
them  turned  to  the  captain,  saying:  "  0  Captain  Blank, 
what  neatness  everywhere!  Why  can  not  our  soldiers 
keep  their  barracks  and  kitchens  like  this?"  "Like 
this!"  was  the  startled  answer.  "I  should  hope  not. 
Have  you  ever  been  at  a  Sunday  morning  inspec- 
tion at  one  of  our  posts?  "  "  Why,  no,"  was  the  hesi- 
tating reply;  "  I  have  never  even  seen  an  army  post  in 
our  own  country.  Do  we  do  as  well? "  "  Madam," 
replied  the  straightforward  and  half-indignant  cap- 
tain, "  the  regiment  to  which  I  have  the  honour  to 
belong  is  serving  on  the  far  Western  frontier.  Should 
I  find  my  barracks  and  kitchen  and  kitchen  uten- 
sils in  as  dirty  a  condition  as  these  are,  on  any 
Sunday  morning  inspection,  my  first  sergeant  would 
be  disrated  and  my  cook  and  the  kitchen  police  sent  to 
the  guardhouse." 


120  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

At  eight  o'clock  the  first  call  for  guard  mount- 
ing is  sounded.  The  details  from  the  various  com- 
panies, always  made  on  the  preceding  day,  are  formed 
in  front  of  their  respective  barracks  and  carefully 
inspected  by  the  first  sergeant  of  the  company  as 
well  as  the  senior  noncommissioned  officer  of  the 
same  company  who  happens  to  be  on  the  detail.  At 
8.10  comes  the  second  call,  and  the  details  are  marched 
to  the  place  of  assembly  by  the  first  sergeant  of  each 
company,  where,  under  the  direction  of  the  adjutant, 
each  detail  is  formed  on  the  left  of  the  one  that  pre- 
ceded it.  When  all  the  guard  has  reported,  the  ser- 
geant major  dresses  the  ranks,  verifies  the  details,  has 
the  guard  count  fours,  divides  it  into  platoons,  and 
reports  the  detail  as  correct  to  the  adjutant,  and  then 
takes  his  proper  post.  And  now  begins  the  routine 
work  of  the  new  day,  for  guard  mounting  is  practically 
the  most  important  of  all  the  average  daily  regimental 
details,  and  under  a  good  and  militarily  smart  adjutant 
it  is  a  matter  of  close  inspection  and  much  ceremony, 
so  while  the  regimental  band  plays  he  proceeds  to  in- 
spect the  guard. 

And  what  an  inspection  it  is! 

Every  gun  is  taken  in  hand  and  carefully  examined, 
both  inside  and  out,  every  screw  is  looked  to,  every 
breech  block  opened  and  closed,  and  a  sharp  eye  kept 
for  the  slightest  particle  of  dust  that  may  have  found 
its  way  to  any  part  of  the  weapon  inside  or  out,  and 
as  a  final  test  the  adjutant  passes  his  white  glove  up 
and  down  the  outside  of  the  barrel  and  along  the  butt, 
and  then  pokes  one  finger  of  it  into  the  muzzle,  glances 
carefully  over  the  glove,  and  if  it  is  still  of  immaculate 
whiteness  he  returns  the  gun  without  comment  and 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.     121 

passes  to  the  next  soldier.  When  the  arms  are  in- 
spected, he  goes  carefully  tip  and  down  the  line  inspect- 
ing the  accoutrements,  ammunition,  and  clothing. 
Every  piece  of  brass  must  be  neatly  polished,  every  belt 
buckle  and  strap  as  clean  as  possible,  every  shoe  well 
blacked,  and  all  clothing  clean  and  carefully  brushed. 
Having  satisfied  himself  as  to  the  general  condition  of 
his  guard,  he  glances  over  it  again  to  pick  out  the  neat- 
est and  smartest  soldier  for  the  commanding  officer's  or- 
derly for  the  day.  On  more  than  one  occasion  this  duty 
is  something  of  a  puzzle  to  a  conscientious  adjutant, 
for  there  are  generally  in  each  company,  troop,  or  bat- 
tery serving  at  the  same  post  one  or  two  men  whose 
ambition  it  is  to  always  take  orderly,  and  the  exquisite 
appearance  and  soldierly  bearing  of  these  privates  is 
something  astonishing.  The  perfect  fit  of  their  uni- 
form, the  absolute  cleanliness  of  their  clothing  and 
person,  their  neatly  brushed  shoes,  clean  shaven  faces, 
closely  cut  hair,  polished  buckles  and  belt  plates,  and 
perfectly  immaculate  arms  and  equipments  make  them 
living  models  for  the  new  recruits. 

Sometimes  the  adjutant  can  not  easily  decide  be- 
tween them,  and  he  has  to  tell  two  or  three,  or  some- 
times even  four  men,  if  he  is  mounting  a  very  large 
guard,  to  fall  out.  -He  then  forms  them  in  squad,  and 
is  perhaps  able  to  designate  the  most  perfect  by  close 
individual  comparison,  but  occasionally  there  will  be 
two  or  more  where  there  is  no  perceptible  choice.  So 
the  adjutant  steps  back  and  gives  the  command:  At- 
tention! Shoulder  arms!  and  then  begins  a  drill  at  the 
manual  of  arms  well  worth  seeing,  for  each  man  is  sure 
to  be  a  splendidly  drilled  soldier  and  does  his  very  best. 
In  two  or  three  minutes,  however,  some  one  of  the  men 


122  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

is  either  slightly  too  slow,  or  too  quick,  or  deflects  his 
piece,  or  commits  (to  an  outsider)  some  almost  imper- 
ceptible error,  and  is  told  to  drop  out,  and  generally  the 
decision  is  soon  reached,  but  there  have  been  occasions 
of  this  sort  when  the  contest  was  decided  by  drawing 
lots,  it  being  impossible  for  the  adjutant  to  satisfacto- 
rily decide  between  two  of  his  guard.  The  advantage  of 
being  the  orderly  for  the  commanding  officer  consists 
in  the  fact  that  the  soldier  so  selected  is  for  the  day 
the  messenger  for  the  commanding  officer,  does  not 
stand  guard,  and  thereby  gets  an  unbroken  night's  rest, 
nor  does  he  have  to  sleep  at  the  guardhouse  with  the 
rest  of  the  guard,  but  occupies  his  own  bed  in  barracks, 
and  furthermore  the  fact  that  he  is  so  selected  gives 
him  a  certain  prestige  as  an  intelligent,  neat,  natty,  and 
well-drilled  soldier,  and,  what  is  better  than  all,  if  he 
wishes  a  pass  and  a  day's  leave  on  the  next  day  he  is 
almost  certain  to  get  it.  Having  duly  selected  the  com- 
manding officer's  orderly  and  finished  his  inspection, 
and  the  noncommissioned  officers  having  taken  their 
proper  post,  and  the  old  and  new  officers  of  the  day 
assumed  their  places  in  front,  the  adjutant  puts  his 
guard  at  parade  rest  and  orders  the  music  to  beat  off. 
The  band  marches  down  the  line  to  the  left,  back  to  the 
right,  and  assumes  its  position  on  the  right  of  the  line. 
The  adjutant  then  brings  the  guard  to  a  carry  arms, 
forms  it  in  close  order,  orders  it  to  present  arms,  and 
then  turns  and  salutes  the  new  officer  of  the  day  with 
the  hackneyed  but  ever  military  words,  "  Sir,  the  guard 
is  formed." 

With  great  punctiliousness  the  officer  of  the  day 
most  dignifiedly  acknowledges  the  salute  and  either 
orders  the  adjutant  to  march  the  guard  in  review,  al- 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  123 

ways  saluting  it  as  it  passes,  or  else,  in  case  of  inclement 
weather,  orders  it  marched  directly  to  its  post.  What 
it  is  that  makes  guard  mount  so  absolutely  fascinating 
to  both  the  oldest  officer  and  soldier  as  well  as  to  the 
raw  recruit  of  soldierly  instincts  it  is  hard  to  say,  but 
that  it  is  so,  the  frequent  attendance  of  both  officers 
and  enlisted  men  in  ordinary  times  when  nothing  but 
routine  work  is  going  on  in  garrison  fully  confirms. 

Presuming  that  my  reader  is  a  civilian,  we  will  fol- 
low the  new  guard  for  a  few  moments  and  see  what 
becomes  of  it. 

Its  post  is  the  guardhouse,  where  all  the  old  guard 
who  are  not  on  post  (the  guard  mounted  on  the  pre- 
ceding day)  is  already  formed,  together  with  all  the 
prisoners  who  are  confined  in  the  guardhouse,  who  are 
formed  on  the  left  of  the  old  guard.  As  the  new  guard 
passes  in  front  of  the  old  guard  the  officers  salute. 

The  new  guard  now  forms  on  the  right  of  the  old 
guard,  and  on  being  aligned  on  it  both  guards  present 
arms.  The  old  and  new  officers  of  the  day  having  duly 
saluted  each  other,  the  old  officer  of  the  day  delivers 
the  standing  orders  of  the  post  and  both  officers  pro- 
ceed to  post  headquarters,  where,  on  reporting  to  the 
commanding  officer  of  the  post,  the  old  officer  is  re- 
lieved and  the  new  officer  of  the  day  given  any  instruc- 
tions other  than  routine  orders  that  may  be  necessary. 
In  the  meantime  the  two  senior  noncommissioned  offi- 
cers of  both  the  old  and  new  guard  have  called  the 
roll  of  the  prisoners,  verified  their  presence,  and  re- 
ceipted in  the  guard  book  for  both  them  and  all  imple- 
ments, such  as  shovels,  rakes,  brooms,  and  whatever  it 
is  necessary  for  the  prisoners  to  use  in  policing  (or 
cleaning)  the  post.  The  first  detail  of  the  new  guard 


124  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

now  relieves  the  last  detail  of  the  old,  and  the  old 
guard  is  dismissed  and  marched  to  barracks. 

Guard  duty  is  always  hard,  inasmuch  as  it  breaks 
the  hours  of  rest.  Army  surgeons  have  given  it  as  their 
opinion  that  the  principal  reason  why  an  enlisted  man 
of  thirty  or  forty  years'  service  is  as  a  general  thing 
more  of  a  broken  man  than  an  officer  of  the  same  length 
of  service  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  officer  does  not, 
save  on  comparatively  rare  occasions,  have  his  rest 
broken  anywhere  near  as  often  as  the  average  enlisted 
man.  Still  guard  duty  is  one  of  the  most  important 
things  either  an  officer  or  enlisted  man  has  to  learn, 
and  the  keenly  trained  acuteness  of  an  enlisted  man 
on  guard  has  more  than  once  prevented  a  surprise  and 
saved  a  post  or  detachment,  both  in  civilized  and  sav- 
age warfare. 

Guard  mounting  over,  the  adjutant  proceeds  to  the 
administration  building,  which  is  the  office  of  the  com- 
manding officer  as  well  as  his  own.  If  the  day's  mail 
has  arrived  he  finds  the  commanding  officer  already 
through  with  his  own  official  mail  and  awaiting  the 
adjutant's  arrival,  that  the  adjutant  may  open  that 
portion  of  the  regimental  mail  addressed  to  him  as 
adjutant.  These  letters  are  carefully  scanned,  and 
if  there  is  anything  outside  of  the  usual  routine 
matters  he  takes  the  colonel's  orders  thereon.  The 
regimental  records  for  the  preceding  day  are  brought 
in  by  the  sergeant  major,  and  all  official  letters,  which 
have  been  carefully  copied  in  the  letter  book,  are  signed 
by  the  colonel  or  the  adjutant,  as  the  case  may  be.  The 
daily  morning  report  is  gone  over  carefully  by  both 
the  colonel  and  the  adjutant.  All  necessary  orders  are 
issued,  letters  written,  and  details  made. 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  125 

The  countersign  (or  password)  for  the  next  day  is 
selected,  and  most  likely  the  regimental  quartermaster 
and  commissary  are  both  sent  for  and  given  orders,  or 
perhaps  taken  into  consultation. 

Then  comes  adjutant's  call,  and  all  the  first  ser- 
geants of  the  various  companies  report  to  the  sergeant 
major  for  the  next  day's  details.  If  there  is  no  regi- 
mental drill  the  colonel  will  quietly  walk  around  the 
post,  with  an  eye  to  everything  going,  and  then  go  to 
his  quarters;  otherwise  he  will  mount  his  horse  and 
attend  drill. 

In  the  meantime  the  adjutant  has  to  look  over  and 
examine  reports  of  all  kinds — boards  of  survey,  garri- 
son court-martial  records,  inspection  reports,  regimental 
and  company  rosters;  inspect  the  regimental  band;  and 
dispose  of  many  other  items  in  the  day's  work. 

From  5.30  A.  M.  to  11  P.  M.  the  post  bugler  is  kept 
on  the  alert,  and  perhaps  the  quickest  way  to  show  the 
routine  work  of  a  large  post  would  be  to  copy  the  list 
of  service  call  of  one  at  which  the  writer  formerly 
served.  Here  it  is: 

Bugler  to  awaken  cooks  at  5  A.  M.  First  call  for 
reveille,  5.45.  Eeveille,  5.55.  Assembly,  6.  Mess  call 
(breakfast),  6.15.  Stable  call,  7.  Sick  call,  7.05.  Fa- 
tigue call,  8.  Drill  call  (boots  and  saddles),  8.05.  As- 
sembly, 8.10.  Kecall  from  fatigue,  11.45.  First  ser- 
geant call,  11.50.  Mess  call  (dinner),  12  M.  Fatigue 
call.  1  P.  M.  Drill  call,  2.  Eecall  from  drill,  3.  Eecall 
from  fatigue,  4.30.  Stable  call,  4.40.  Assembly,  5.25. 
Dress  parade,  5.40.  Mess  call  (supper),  6.30.  Tattoo, 
9.  Call  to  quarters,  10.40.  Taps,  11. 

Dress  parade  ends  the  working  day,  and  looking 
back  at  the  service  on  the  frontier,  it  was,  during  the 


126  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

summer  months,  a  pretty  sight.  The  vine-covered 
porches  of  the  officers'  quarters  would  be  bright  with 
the  gay  dresses  of  the  officers'  wives  and  daughters,  and 
frequently  the  board  sidewalk  opposite  the  flagstaff 
would  be  lined  with  visitors  watching  the  parade,  and 
on  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony  the  young  children 
would  come  running  and -shouting  to  meet  their  re- 
spective fathers  and  carry  them  into  dinner,  and  so 
sometimes  with  a  youngster  mounted  on  each  shoulder 
a  good-natured,  laughing,  and  happy  father,  in  his  full- 
dress  uniform,  would  stroll  up  the  board  sidewalk  to  his 
quarters  and  his  dinner. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  list  of  calls  was 
always  the  same.  On  certain  days,  Saturday  especially, 
part  of  the  day  was  devoted  to  thoroughly  policing  the 
post  by  nearly  the  whole  command,  and  the  afternoon 
set  aside  for  the  men  to  put  themselves  in  shape  for  the 
regular  Sunday  morning  inspection;  but  Sunday  inspec- 
tion has  now  been  superseded  by  a  Saturday  inspection, 
and  on  Sunday  the  least  possible  amount  of  military 
work  is  done. 

During  certain  months  a  great  deal  of  time  is  de- 
voted to  target  practice,  and  both  officers  and  men 
spend  hours  a  day  at  the  rifle  range,  with  the  result 
that  our  army  contains  the  best  rifle  shots  to  be  found 
anywhere,  and  its  average  is  far  and  away  beyond  that 
of  the  troops  of  any  other  army  in  the  world. 

The  spirit  of  cohesion  is  always  strong  in  companies 
and  troops,  and  the  members  of  one  seldom  seek  asso- 
ciates outside  of  it.  Two  regiments  in  the  same  com- 
mand are  often  comparative  strangers  to  each  other, 
the  cavalry  going  its  way,  the  infantry  its  way.  Not 
because  there  are  unkindly  feelings  between  them,  but 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  127 

because  each  is  sufficient  to  itself.  With  the  members 
of  his  own  company  or  troop  the  enlisted  man  plays 
his  games  of  cards  in  its  quarters  or  skylarks  on  its 
parade. 

The  barrack  room,  in  which  the  men  are  quartered, 
is  their  most  important  room;  the  others,  such  as  the 
orderly  room,  the  storeroom,  and  the  library,  are  mere- 
ly adjuncts  to  it.  Room  orderlies  keep  it  as  clean  as 
a  Dutch  housewife's  kitchen,  and  highly  polished  lamps 
suspended  from  ceiling  or  rafter  shed  a  cheerful  light 
at  night.  This  room,  then,  becomes  the  centre  of  the 
soldier's  life  in  garrison.  Here  he  is  seen  at  his  ease, 
free  from  official  oversight,  with  his  belts  off,  so  to 
speak.  However,  the  glance  of  authority  still  reaches 
him,  for  in  the  barrack  room  he  is  always  under  some 
sergeant's  eye;  hence  his  standing  with  his  company 
commander  depends  to  a  certain  extent  upon  his  good 
conduct  there.  His  aptitude  for  special  kinds  of  duty 
is  determined  there;  also  his  qualifications  for  promo- 
tion other  than  his  efficiency  on  drill,  on  guard,  etc. 
The  "youngster"  learns  many  things  in  and  about  a 
barrack  room  which  are  not  in  the  drill  book  or  the 
regulations,  but  which  go  to  make  him  the  resolute, 
resourceful  soldier  he  in  time  becomes.  He  listens  to 
simple  tales  of  sacrifice  or  heroism  told  without  vaunt- 
ing, which  arouse  in  him  a  spirit  of  emulation  and  de- 
sire. He  sees  a  ready  acceptance  and  a  cheerful  execu- 
tion of  all  duties,  no  matter  how  hard  or  disagreeable, 
and  he  is  taught  thereby  to  do  likewise  when  his  turn 
comes.  Conversation  takes  a  wide  range  on  the  bar- 
rack porch  or  around  the  stove  inside,  and  the  neophyte 
hears  and  sees  a  good  many  things  that  he  would  be 
better  without  knowing.  However,  that  lowering  dis- 


128  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

content  with  existing  conditions  which  tells  of  ill 
treatment,  neglect,  and  injustice,  and  which  leads  to 
revolt  and  mutiny,  so  prevalent  in  other  countries,  is 
never  heard  there.  There  is  never  the  slightest  fear 
about  the  way  the  United  States  soldier  will  act  upon 
any  given  occasion.  When  he  is  despatched  on  duty 
others  are  not  sent  after  him  to  shoot  him  down  if  he 
falters,  nor  is  he  ever  truckled  to  in  times  of  disorder, 
and  he  has  never  been  called  upon  to  bring  his  guns 
to  bear  upon  his  comrades.  The  barrack  is  the  barom- 
eter of  the  post.  When  all  goes  well  it  is  gay  and  lively, 
jests  fly  to  and  fro  to  the  sound  of  laughter,  the  com- 
pany wit  sends  his  shafts  in  all  directions,  while  his 
practical  jokes  and  antics  keep  the  room  in  a  roar.  But 
when  quiet  reigns  there  and  the  men  pass  each  other 
without  remark,  when  there  are  no  games  to  the  fore 
and  the  wit  is  sarcastic,  then  there  is  something  amiss; 
either  duty  is  hard,  fatigue  onerous,  or  rations  are  scant, 
and  discontent  is  abroad. 

Sometimes,  in  uneventful  days,  the  monotony  of  bar- 
rack life  slowly  breeds  discontent,  no  matter  how  com- 
fortably housed  nor  how  well  fed  the  troops  may  be. 
If  the  summer  practice  marches  are  not  near  at  hand 
a  shrewd  commanding  officer  will  find  some  field  duty 
for  all  the  men  who  can  be  safely  spared  from  garrison. 
He  will  make  details  of  companies  or  smaller  detach- 
ments that  will  take  them  many  miles  away.  If  prac- 
ticable, over  rough  mountains,  by  unused  trails,  or  along 
unexplored  mountain  streams.  The  result  is  that  in 
two  or  three  weeks  the  men  return  to  the  post  bronzed 
by  the  sun,  covered  with  dust,  and  as  hard  as  nails, 
perfectly  content  and  glad  to  get  back  to  the  comforts 
of  barrack  life  once  more. 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  129 

Deserters  from  the  army  at  frontier  posts  are  not 
uncommon,  but  they  are  generally  men  who  have  en- 
listed with  the  deliberate  intention  of  deserting  as 
soon  as  they  reached  that  portion  of  the  West  or 
South  or  the  Pacific  coast  that  they  were  unable  to 
pay  their  way  to.  They  take  the  chances  as  to 
arrest,  and  enlist  under  an  assumed  name,  giving  a 
false  residence,  nativity,  and  age.  Of  late  years,  how- 
ever, the  recruiting  officers  are  particularly  careful 
whom  they  enlist,  and  generally  refuse  men  who  can 
not  show  a  good  record  as  a  citizen,  and  as  a  result 
the  yearly  average  of  desertions  in  the  army  is  rapidly 
decreasing. 

Hunting  at  frontier  posts  is  very  popular,  and  it  is 
encouraged  on  account  of  the  knowledge  of  the  coun- 
try gained  by  the  men  and  the  experience  in  taking 
care  of  themselves  which  it  gives.  Parties  are  formed, 
a  wagon  and  mules  are  furnished  by  the  quartermas- 
ter, and  away  they  go  afield  or  into  the  mountains  for 
a  week,  a  fortnight,  and  sometimes  a  month.  The  hunt- 
ers rarely  return  without  game,  which  is  distributed 
to  the  entire  command  as  widely  as  the  amount  brought 
in  will  permit,  and  it  is  always  a  welcome  change  in  a 
rather  monotonous  diet. 

Athletic  games  of  all  sorts  are  frequently  indulged 
in  by  the  enlisted  men,  and  always  encouraged  to  the 
utmost  by  all  of  the  officers.  Nearly  every  company  or 
troop  in  the  army  has  its  boxing  gloves,  baseball  club, 
ropes  for  the  tug  of  war,  sets  of  parallel  bars,  and 
a  good  shotgun  or  two  for  those  who  wish  to  go  bird 
shooting.  If  located  in  the  vicinity  of  trout  streams, 
the  first  sergeant's  room  generally  contains  an  ample 
supply  of  fishing  tackle  that  belongs  to  the  company 


130  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

for  the  use  of  such  members  of  it  as  may  be  disciples  of 
quaint  old  Izaak  Walton. 

Life  passed  smoothly  and  quietly  enough  in  times 
of  order  at  all  the  many  stations  on  the  frontier, 
whether  under  the  burning  sun  of  Arizona  one  day  or 
amid  the  arctic  cold  of  Dakota  the  next.  It  did  not 
matter  much  what  went  on  outside,  for  inside  life  was 
always  the  same.  Whether  danger  lurked  just  beyond 
the  sally  port  or  Peace  was  monarch  of  all  the  routine 
was  strictly  kept  up,  and  it  is  important  to  appreciate 
it,  as  it  formed  a  large  part  of  the  soldier's  existence. 
It  was  not  all  campaigning  and  field  work,  the  ever  pres- 
ent risk  and  the  wild  clash  of  arms,  although  there  was 
plenty  of  that,  too,  but  it  was  in  these  posts  in  quiet 
seasons  that  the  Western  soldier  was  formed — a  strong, 
brave  man  of  many  resources  and  vast  endurance,  loyal 
to  his  country  and  his  officers,  willing  to  follow  not  only 
where  they  led,  but  to  stay  with  them  to  the  end,  no 
matter  how  hopeless  the  end  looked. 

The  veteran  of  "  the  old  army "  was  always  the 
library's  steadiest  patron.  He  was  often  found  there, 
or  else  stretched  at  full  length  on  his  bunk,  intent 
upon  a  book  relating  to  that  part  of  the  civil  war  in 
which  he  was  an  actor.  Regardless  of  the  noise  and 
movement  all  around  him,  he  lived  over  again  that 
glorious  time,  one  year  of  which  to  him  was  worth  a 
lifetime  of  this  period  of  peace.  If  one  listened  to  these 
old  fellows  talking  to  the  youngsters,  or  questioned 
them,  he  found  that  they  had  a  knowledge  of  that  great 
conflict  wide  enough  and  minute  enough  to  humble 
many  a  one  who  plumed  himself  upon  his  information. 
They  had  not  lived  beyond  it  and  were  completely  en- 
veloped in  its  memories. 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  131 

They  are  mostly  gone  now,  more's  the  pity.  There 
were  one  or  two  in  almost  every  troop  and  company 
a  few  years  ago,  sturdy  old  fellows  wearing  four  to  six 
service  chevrons  on  their  arms.  They  had  taken  life 
as  it  came:  Mexico,  the  plains,  the  war  between  the 
States,  and  then  the  plains  again.  They  had  looked  on 
them  all  and  were  proud  of  themselves  and  their  rec- 
ords, as  they  had  a  right  to  be. 

"How  long  have  you  been  a  noncommissioned  offi- 
cer? "  a  lieutenant  of  two-and-twenty  demanded  reprov- 
ingly of  his  sergeant  of  the  guard,  whom  he  thought 
needed  a  little  instruction  in  his  duties. 

"  Twenty-four  years  the  17th  of  last  month,  sir/' 
was  the  answer. 

Stiff  and  artificial  in  their  movements,  faithful  in 
the  highest  degree,  wedded  to  old  times  and  old  things, 
contemptuous  and  distrustful  of  innovations,  these  old 
fellows  were  disdainful  of  the  young  men,  who  were 
always  taking  "  rises "  out  of  them  and  the  methods 
they  were  taught.  It  is  even  to  be  feared  they  were 
inclined  to  look  down  on  the  alert  young  gentlemen 
whose  first  commissions  needed  the  salt  of  usage.  They 
were  well  cared  for  and  looked  out  for  by  their  officers, 
who  liked  and  respected  them.  On  account  of  their 
records  they  had  special  rights  and  privileges  which 
they  understood  perfectly  were  no  more  than  their  due, 
and,  if  the  undiluted  truth  must  be  told,  they  occasion- 
ally presumed  upon  them. 

It  was  a  fine  sight  to  see  one  of  these  old  men  on 
muster  or  monthly  inspection.  Erect  and  soldierly, 
with  his  red  face  glistening,  his  white  hair  cut  close, 
his  arms  and  accoutrements  shining,  not  a  wrinkle  in 
his  neat-fitting  uniform,  nor  a  speck  of  dust  about  him, 


132  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

his  corps  badge,  and  it  may  be  a  medal,  on  his  breast, 
he  stood  in  the  ranks  among  the  others  like  an  oak  tree 
in  a  grove  of  cottonwood  saplings.  Then  the  gray- 
haired  colonel  with  whom  he  had  served  in  "  the  long 
ago,"  and  whom  as  a  general  he  had  followed  into 
more  than  one  "  close  corner "  during  the  great  war, 
would  come  down  the  line  and  stop  in  front  of  him. 

"  Well,  Blank,  how  are  you  getting  along?  "  asks  the 
colonel. 

Blank's  hand  in  salute  slaps  against  his  rifle  sharply 
enough  to  make  the  bands  rattle,  while  his  chin  rises 
two  inches. 

"  Fairly  well,  sir,"  he  answers. 

"  They  use  you  pretty  well,  do  they?  " 

"I  can't  complain.  The  hash,  mornings,  has  got 
a  sight  f  more  potatoes  than  meat  in  it.' ';  The  honour 
of  the  cloth  forbids  an  unqualified  approval  of  treat- 
ment. 

"Well  this  is  different  from  Camp  Floyd  in  '57, 
isn't  it?"  the  colonel  continues. 

"  Yes,  sir.    There  was  soldiering  in  those  days." 

Sometimes  it  was  the  general  in  whose  corps  he  had 
served,  now  a  department  commander,  who  caught  sight 
of  the  badge  as  he  went  along  the  line  and  stopped  to 
question  him.  In  either  case  the4  old  fellow's  eye  would 
brighten,  his  chest  swell  out,  and  a  poker  would  be  limp 
compared  with  him,  and  his  contempt  for  those  not  so 
honoured  would  become  painfully  intense,  and  apt  to 
be  expressed,  sad  to  say,  more  or  less  incoherently  to- 
ward nightfall. 

The  soldier  in  the  West,  even  in  the  fifties,  was  not 
entirely  beyond  the  influences  of  the  fairer  sex.  The 
group  of  laundresses'  cabins  were  known  as  "  Soapsuds 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  133 

Row,"  in  delicate  allusion  to  the  vocation  of  the  wives 
of  the  married  men,  three  or  four  in  each  company, 
who  occupied  them.  These  laundresses  and  the  women 
servants  of  the  officers*  families,  when  there  were  such, 
furnished  the  female  element  in  the  enlisted  bachelors' 
social  circle.  They  were  good,  honest,  industrious 
wives,  usually  well  on  in  years,  minutely  familiar  with 
their  rights  (for  in  those  days  they  were  practically 
on  the  muster  roll  of  the  company),  which  they  dared 
to  maintain  with  acrimonious  volubility,  as  became  the 
martially  inclined,  and  they  were  ever  ready  for  a  fight, 
yet  they  were  kind  at  heart  if  rough  in  manner,  always 
ready  to  assist  in  times  of  distress.  Often  and  often  the 
officers'  wives  would  have  found  a  hard  life  harder  if 
they  had  not  been  at  hand,  and  they  were  ever  ready 
with  a  help  that  can  not  be  paid  for  with  money.  More 
than  one  army  officer  whose  birthplace  was  some  remote 
frontier  fort  was  taken  care  of  in  life's  earliest  hour  by 
a  good-hearted  old  soul  who  at  other  times  was  some- 
thing of  a  thorn  in  the  father's  side. 

They  had  children  of  their  own,  plenty  of  them, 
and  it  was  no  rare  sight  to  see  the  mother  doing  her 
share  of  the  company  washing,  with  a  big  soldier  con- 
tentedly taking  care  of  the  children,  sitting  by  the 
kitchen  stove,  or  helping  to  hang  out  the  clothes. 
When  there  happened  to  be  a  well-favoured  young 
woman  in  the  family,  what  a  belle  she  was,  and  how 
the  offers  of  marriage  rained  on  her,  from  the  self-con- 
scious dandy  sergeant  major  down  to  a  cook's  police,  and 
how  she  commonly  selected  the  worthless  but  showy  fel- 
low! The  laundresses  and  women  servants  were  the  hon- 
oured guests  at  the  dances,  theatricals,  and  other  enter- 
tainments given  by  the  men,  and  the  former  responded 
10 


134:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

with  merrymaking  in  their  own  quarters,  where  the 
space  was  small  but  the  enjoyment  huge.  The  women 
servants  attended  these  affairs  with  a  lover  apiece,  for 
let  it  be  known  that  no  woman,  old  or  young,  beautiful 
or  homely,  has  ever  yet  entered  a  garrison  without  hav- 
ing a  wooer  at  her  feet  if  her  stay  was  reasonably  long. 

The  enlisted  man  of  the  United  States  army, 
whether  he  be  white  or  black,  is  not  one  bit  of  a  boy, 
as  the  good  people  at  home  are  wont  to  designate  the 
volunteer,  but,  on  the  contrary,  he  is  a  very  level-headed 
manly  man.  From  the  moment  he  joins  his  regiment 
as  a  new  recruit  he  is  taught  that  he  is  a  man,  and  a 
man's  full  duty  as  a  soldier  is  expected  of  him,  and 
nothing  less  will  be  tolerated.  No  matter  what  his 
individual  ideas  may  have  been  prior  to  enlisting  in  the 
army,  two  years'  service  generally  renders  him  a  strong, 
well-trained,  self-reliant,  vigorous,  virile  man.  He  may 
not  be,  and  frequently  is  not,  in  a  general  sense  a  well- 
educated  man,  nay,  more,  occasionally  he  is  not  even 
intellectually  strong,  but  when  a  crisis  arises  the  care- 
ful training  he  has  received,  together  with  the  ideas 
he  has  almost  unconsciously  imbibed  in  his  daily  life 
of  routine  garrison  duty,  will  surely  enable  him  to  do 
his  whole  duty  on  the  field  of  battle  even  under  the 
most  desperate  circumstances.  As  he  increases  in 
years  and  in  length  of  service  he  is  apt  to  become  quiet 
and  reserved  in  manner,  though  not  at  all  taciturn, 
and  is  almost  invariably  pleasant  in  his  intercourse  with 
all  his  fellow-soldiers,  but  while  he  says  very  little  at 
any  time,  he  usually  exhibits  a  broad  tolerance  for  the 
high  spirits  of  the  younger  men,  and  especially  for  the 
new  recruits.  His  bearing  is  courteous  and  his  manners 
good,  and  he  is  apt  to  be  a  bit  shy,  but  he  can  be 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  135 

safely  depended  upon  to  do  his  best  under  all  circum- 
stances and  at  all  times.  It  was  a  source  of  no  little 
satisfaction  to  his  officers  to  know  that  the  sisters  of 
charity  and  the  gentlewomen  hospital  nurses  in  the  late 
Spanish  war,  without  exception,  pronounced  the  regular 
soldiers  to  be  the  least  troublesome  and  the  most  con- 
siderate and  polite  of  all  the  wounded  and  sick  soldiers 
whom  they  had  to  wait  upon  and  nurse.  His  manners 
have  certainly  undergone  one  admirable  change.  I 
allude  to  the  old  custom  or  habit  of  swearing.  Now 
swearing  was  a  common  enough  thing  in  the  army  of 
thirty-five  years  ago,  but  to-day  it  is  as  rare  among 
regular  soldiers  as  it  used  to  be  common,  and  so  also 
of  drinking  alcoholic  liquors  to  excess,  especially 
on  pay  day.  Both  of  these  former  habits  of  the  army 
have  steadily  become  less  in  each  succeeding  year  since 
1870,  so  that  the  enlisted  men  who  swear  or  habitually 
drink  alcoholic  liquors  form  only  a  very  small  percent- 
age of  our  regular  regiments.  The  disuse  of  liquor 
among  enlisted  men  was  greatly  accelerated  by  the 
steady  development  of  rifle  practice  in  the  army.  After 
the  system  was  thoroughly  organized  it  became  the  am- 
bition of  many  of  the  older  men  to  become  marksmen 
or  sharpshooters.  This  they  soon  realized  that  they 
could  not  do  if  they  continued  to  habitually  use  strong 
liquors,  and  so  most  of  the  remaining  whisky  drinkers 
in  the  army  gradually  abandoned  the  habit,  so  that  our 
target  practice  not  only  gave  us  the  best  shots  of  any 
army  in  the  world,  but  it  helped  to  reform  most  of  the 
few  habitual  hard  drinkers  then  remaining  in  our 
service. 

The  post  canteen  of  to-day,  which  seems  to  have  so 
much  excited  the  ire  of  some  of  the  most  uncompro- 


136  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

mising  of  the  advocates  of  teetotalism,  is  an  outgrowth 
of  the  experience  of  the  English  army  in  India.  All 
men  need  an  outlet  in  the  way  of  comradeship  and 
society,  and  if  they  can  not  get  it  in  a  good  and  legiti- 
mate way,  they  will  seek  it  in  a  bad  and  illegitimate 
direction.  Some  place  must  be  had  for  social  inter- 
course, and  some  enjoyment  must  be  obtainable  in  the 
way  of  a  slight  stimulant  to  good  fellowship.  This  the 
post  canteen  affords  the  enlisted  man,  and  it  is  so  regu- 
lated and  looked  after  that  it  offers  the  maximum  of 
simple  and  legitimate  enjoyment  at  the  minimum 
of  cost,  and  is  entirely  debarred  from  everything  that 
in  any  way  tends  to  degrade  or  lower  the  status  of  a 
good,  respectable  man.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  enlisted  man's 
club,  and  out  of  it  he  gets,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer, 
nothing  but  good.  The  principle  upon  which  it  is  es- 
tablished is  very  simple,  and  is  this: 

An  officer  of  the  post  where  one  is  to  be  established 
is  detailed  to  take  charge  of  it  beside  and  in  addition 
to  his  other  duties.  A  vacant  building  at  the  post  as 
suitable  as  may  be  that  happens  to  be  unoccupied  at 
the  time  and  can  be  spared  is  turned  over  to  him  for 
this  purpose.  The  post  commander  authorizes  him,  un- 
der Article  XXXIX  of  Army  Eegulations  in  regard  to 
Post  Exchanges,  to  sell  beer  and  light  wines  to  the  en- 
listed men  to  the  exclusion  of  any  outsiders  now  that 
post  traders  or  sutlers  are  no  longer  recognised  by  law. 
He  has  the  building  put  in  order,  at  no  cost  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, by  the  enlisted  men,  purchases  entirely  on 
credit  from  the  leading  brewers  all  the  beer  he  requires, 
procures  in  the  same  way  beer  glasses  (always  the 
largest  to  be  found  in  the  market),  and  hires  a  bar- 
tender, who  is  always  a  civilian,  and  opens  the  canteen. 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  137 

The  men  are  each  given  credit  (so  many  tickets  at  five 
cents  each)  to  the  amount  of  one  dollar  a  week — no 
more — during  the  month.  At  the  first  monthly  payment 
thereafter  this  amount  is  collected  from  the  men  at  the 
pay  table.  This  is  the  beginning.  In  six  or  eight 
months  the  canteen  possesses  what  is  practically  a  good 
store,  well  stocked  with  the  kind  of  goods  that  the  men 
may  desire  to  buy — a  billiard  table,  a  restaurant,  and 
any  other  thing  that  the  men  may  desire,  such  as  check- 
erboards, dominoes,  chess,  and  card  tables  (the  men  are 
not  allowed  to  play  for  money  or  stakes  of  any  sort). 
They  are  now  the  possessors  of  a  neat,  roomy,  and  pleas- 
ant place  where  they  can  get  a  good  glass  of  beer  at 
low  cost,  a  good  pipe,  good  tobacco,  all  kinds  of  min- 
eral waters,  soda  water,  and  good  and  substantial 
lunches  at  about  half  the  price  ordinarily  charged  at 
saloons  and  eating  houses.  In  order  to  test  this  the 
writer  recently  inspected,  by  permission  of  the  post 
commander,  the  post  canteen  at  Fort  Myer,  Virginia. 
Four  troops  of  the  Third  United  States  Cavalry  gar- 
rison the  post.  Within  a  year  the  post  canteen  was 
started  without  a  dollar  of  capital  in  just  the  manner 
above  described.  It  now  consists  of  an  officers'  room, 
a  large  room  for  the  enlisted  men,  a  large  half-inclosed 
veranda,  a  perfectly  appointed  bar,  a  large  restaurant, 
where  one  can  obtain  anything  furnished  by  any  ordi- 
nary restaurant,  a  well-stocked  store  well  patronized  by 
both  officers  as  well  as  the  enlisted  men,  and  is  in  inde- 
pendent circumstances,  having  paid  its  way  from  the 
start.  In  May  its  sales  were  frqm  beer  $1,226.05,  from 
the  restaurant  $1,185.60,  from  the  store  $812.96,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  $3,224.61.  It  employs  seven  civilians, 
whose  pay  roll  amounts  to  $266.57  monthly.  The  net 


138  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

profit  for  the  month  of  May,  which  is  divided  between 
the  post  fund  and  the  company  fund  of  the  four  troops 
of  cavalry,  was  $645.89.  "How  much  wine  do  you 
sell?"  was  asked  of  the  head  clerk,  who,  by  the  bye, 
holds  a  certificate  of  the  civil-service  examining  board. 
"Practically  none/'  was  the  reply;  "a  little  light 
wine  to  the  officers  for  an  extra  occasion,  when  they 
are  entertaining  guests."  "  Do  you  have  any  drunken 
men  at  the  post?"  "I  have  only  seen  one  man  under 
the  influence  of  liquor  in  the  last  three  months."  As 
the  writer  passed  through  the  rooms,  out  of  say  ten  or 
more  men  who  were  quietly  sitting  and  chatting  at  the 
tables,  three  were  drinking  beer  and  the  others  were 
being  served  from  the  restaurant.  The  fact  is  that  the 
post  canteen  is  the  old-time  sutler's  store,  shorn  of  all  its 
bad  features,  with  the  profits  going  to  better  the  condi- 
tion of  the  enlisted  man  by  giving  him  certain  luxuries 
at  his  table  and  helping  pay  for  good  reading  matter 
in  the  company  library,  instead  of  going  to  swell  the 
private  fortune  of  perhaps  some  unscrupulous  post 
trader,  whose  only  interest  was  to  sell  poor  whisky  and 
inferior  goods  at  high  prices.  The  writer  does  not  wish 
to  convey  the  idea  that  all  post  traders  and  sutlers 
of  old  were  bad  men.  In  fact,  some  of  them  were 
very  fine  men  and  most  honourable  traders;  but  others 
were  not. 

Just  here  the  writer  proposes  to  digress  for  a  few 
moments  to  say  a  kindly  word  of  warning  to  the  advo- 
cates of  temperance,  or  rather  teetotalism,  who  are 
once  again,  with  the  best  intentions  in  the  world,  seek- 
ing, unconsciously  to  themselves,  a  second  time  to  in- 
flict a  great  injury  upon  the  enlisted  men  of  the  army, 
especially  those  upon  the  frontier,  and  to  again  demor- 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  139 

alize  it  more  than  any  one  but  an  officer  of  practical 
experience  can  tell  them. 

During  the  administration  of  President  Hayes,  ow- 
ing to  the  persistent  efforts  of  the  teetotal  party,  an 
order  was  issued  by  the  War  Department  forbidding  the 
sale  of  alcoholic  liquors  at  the  sutler's  or  trader's  store 
at  all  army  posts.  It  was  promptly  complied  with,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  a'nd  the  post  trader  had  to,  and  in 
all  instances  did,  confine  himself  to  the  sale  of  malt 
liquors.  Now,  as  a  general  thing,  for  the  last  twenty 
years  beer  has  been  what  the  average  private  in  the 
army  preferred  to  drink  when  he  could  get  it,  and  it  is 
by  all  odds  his  favourite  drink  to-day,  as  it  is  that  of 
the  privates  in  the  English,  Prussian,  Austrian^  and 
Bavarian  armies.  Therefore,  the  order  mentioned  was 
thought  by  many  of  the  army  officers  to  be  a  good  one, 
and  met  their  hearty  approval  for  the  first  few  months 
after  it  went  into  operation,  but  long  before  the  first 
year  had  passed  they  had  to  meet  a  new  condition  of 
things  arising  out  of  the  enforcement  of  the  said  order 
that  put  a  few  unlooked-for  gray  hairs  in  the  head  of 
more  than  one  conscientious  frontier  post  commander. 

Now,  as  I  have  heretofore  written,  the  enlisted 
man  of  the  United  States  army  is,  as  a  class,  the 
most  thoroughly  law-abiding  of  all  the  men  of  any 
profession  in  the  whole  country,  and  there  is  little 
trouble  in  enforcing  any  lawful  military  order  issued 
by  the  War  Department.  Still  he  is  anything  but  a 
fool,  and  in  this  case  ninety  per  cent  of  the  men 
promptly  set  this  order  down  as  neither  military  nor, 
in  their  opinion,  lawful. 

In  the  first  place,  the  soldier  is  not  a  child  nor  an 
insane  person;  consequently  there  was  no  good  reason 


140  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

why  he  should  be  placed  in  that  category.  Old  soldiers 
could  remember  when  whisky  was  a  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment ration.  Of  course,  if  the  authorities  saw  fit  to  dis- 
pense with  it  in  the  commissariat  he  had  no  fault  to 
find,  but  for  the  authorities  to  say  how  he  should  spend 
the  money  he  had  honestly  earned  was  quite  another 
thing.  Whisky  was  not  a  poison,  and  quite  a  large 
part  of  the  Government  revenue  came  from  its  manu- 
facture. It  was  used  largely  by  many  thousand  good 
citizens,  and  if  he  chose  to  buy  it,  pay  for  it  with  his 
own  money,  and  drink  it  in  moderation,  what  legal 
right  had  the  War  Department  to  interfere  with  him? 
In  his  opinion,  the  order  was  neither  right,  a  military 
necessity,  nor  lawful.  The  men  who  so  argued  were 
as  a  class  temperate — that  is,  they  now  and  then  took 
a  glass  of  beer  when  it  was  sold  at  a  -price  within  their 
means,  and  rarely,  but  very  rarely,  a  drink  of  whisky. 

In  other  words,  it  could  not  be  truly  said  of  them 
that  they  were  what  is  denominated  drinking  men. 

Within  three  months  from  the  enforcement  of  said 
order  just  outside  of  the  post  reservations  (and  beyond 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  post  commander)  all  over  the 
whole  country  little  shacks  or  shanties  began  to  make 
their  appearance. 

These  shacks  soon  became  known  as  "  hog  ranches," 
and  at  first  consisted  of  a  lean-to  (a  long  room),  one 
man,  two  or  three  tin  cups,  and  one  or  two  four-gallon 
jugs  of  vile  whisky. 

Within  three  months  they  were  enlarged  to  two  or 
more  rooms,  held  a  bar  that  had  behind  it  whisky  by 
the  barrel,  and  in  the  room  outside  of  the  bar  were  two 
or  three  card  tables,  and  possibly  a  faro  layout. 

Within  the  next  three  months  there  were  two  or 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW. 

three  bedrooms  built  on  to  the  ranch  and  two  or  three 
of  the  most  wretched  and  lowest  class  of  abandoned 
women  (for  none  other  could  be  induced  to  come  out 
to  such  surroundings)  could  be  seen  standing  in  the 
doorway  or  heard  singing  and  shouting  at  the  bar.  It 
was  the  development  of  the  order  forbidding  the  sale 
of  whisky  to  enlisted  men. 

As  a  class,  the  men  did  not  wish  whisky — they  pre- 
ferred beer;  but  they  determined  that  they  would  not 
be  deprived  of  their  legal  right  to  purchase  whisky  with 
their  own  money  if  they  wished  to  do  so. 

Now  they  had  within  reach  whisky,  cards,  faro, 
women,  and  the  vilest  frontier  company. 

The  writer  was  ordered  to  take  command  of  Fort 
Cummings,  New  Mexico,  when  this  was  the  state  of 
affairs. 

It  was  probably  the  most  undesirable  post  at  that 
time  in  the  whole  country.  The  garrison  consisted  of 
three  troops  of  cavalry  (one  colored)  and  two  com- 
panies of  infantry.  The  soldiers  were  in  tents,  the  offi- 
cers generally  had  a  room  each  in  an  old  formerly 
abandoned  adobe  building,  although  some  of  them  occu- 
pied tents. 

It  was  located  on  the  great  runway  of  the  Apaches, 
who  generally  came  up  North  through  Cook's  Canon — 
just  beyond  the  post.  The  place  had  been  abandoned 
by  the  army  no  less  than  three  consecutive  times,  and 
yet  it  had  been  always  found  necessary  to  reoccupy  it. 

The  officers  were  thoroughly  capable  men,  and  the 
troops  as  a  general  thing  exceedingly  good  soldiers. 
The  weekly  inspection  of  the  post  hospital,  however,  de- 
veloped the  fact  that  a  certain  heavy  percentage  of  the 
men  were  suffering  from  infectious  diseases.  Inquiry 


142  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

established  another  fact,  and  that  was  that,  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  reservation  and  outside  of  and  beyond 
military  jurisdiction,  within  a  radius  of  from  three  to 
six  miles  of  the  post,  were  a  number  of  "  hog  ranches  " 
of  the  vilest  sort. 

Between  taps  (10  p.  M.)  and  reveille  (4.30  A.  M.)  the 
men  would  steal  out  of  camp,  run  the  post  guard  in 
the  dark,  visit  these  places,  and  return  before  day- 
light. As  a  matter  of  course,  they  were  heavy-eyed, 
stupid,  and  not  up  to  their  work  the  next  day,  but  this 
could  have  been  borne  if  the  result  had  not  been  that 
in  the  course  of  time  they  were  on  the  sick  list,  and 
possibly  infected  for  life,  to  say  nothing  of  having  to 
be  discharged  the  service  as  incapable  of  further  duty 
in  the  army.  My  surgeon  was  one  of  the  oldest  acting 
assistant  surgeons  of  the  army,  a  most  capable  man  and 
a  man  of  sound  sense,  whom  I  had  known  for  many 
years.  After  a  conversation  with  him  on  the  subject,  I 
sent  for  my  post  trader,  Mr.  Carpenter,  and  told  him  I 
wished  him  to  send  to  Kentucky  for  some  good  whisky 
for  sale  to  the  men.  "  But  the  Secretary  of  War  will 
cancel  my  appointment  as  post  trader! "  was  his  reply. 
"  Send,"  was  my  response.  "  I  will  stand  between  you 
and  harm.  I  wish  to  try  an  experiment."  In  due  time 
three  barrels  of  whisky  arrived  from  Louisville,  Ky.  It 
was  analyzed  by  the  surgeon  and  pronounced  pure. 
"  What  can  you  sell  it  for? "  was  asked  of  the  post 
trader.  "  Two  drinks  for  twenty-five  cents,  single 
drinks  fifteen  cents."  "  Very  well,  place  it  on  sale." 
Which  accordingly  was  done.  I  had  during  the  first 
ten  days  to  punish  two  men  for  drunkenness;  that 
was  all.  In  six  weeks  one  of  the  "  hog  ranches " 
disappeared,  in  three  months  two  others  pulled  up 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  143 

stakes  and  left.  Inside  of  five  months  the  last  one, 
the  one  over  at  the  railway  station,  from  which  the 
women  had  departed  weeks  before,  was  for  sale  with 
no  bidders. 

"  Mr.  Carpenter,"  said  the  surgeon  one  day  at 
monthly  inspection,  "how  much  whisky  do  the  men 
buy?"  "Mighty  little,"  was  the  reply;  "they  drink 
beer.  The  miners  are  about  my  only  whisky  customers. 
Why,  blank  it,  soldiers  don't  really  care  for  whisky 
when  they  can  get  it!  They  prefer  beer." 

It  is  a  prevalent  idea  among  many  civilians  that 
the  army  officer,  like  the  soldier,  is  armed,  clothed, 
housed,  and  fed  at  the  expense  of  the  Government,  and 
it  comes  as  a  surprise  to  some  of  the  unthinking  ones  to 
ascertain  that  just  exactly  the  contrary  is  the  fact. 
The  pay  of  the  officer  of  the  army  is  fairly  good,  and 
were  he,  as  some  people  think,  furnished  with  his 
living  outside  of  it,  it  would  be  very  liberal;  but,  unfor- 
tunately for  the  officer,  such  is  not  the  fact.  An  officer 
is  entitled  to  the  quarters  in  which  he  resides  in  gar- 
rison free  of  rent,  but  he  has  to  furnish,  heat,  and 
light  them  at  his  own  expense,  as  well  as  purchase  his 
own  food  and  pay  for  his  servants,  his  uniform,  sword, 
and  side  arms  out  of  his  own  pocket.  If  he  is  an  officer 
of  cavalry,  light  artillery,  or  one  of  the  general  staff  he 
has  also  to  buy  his  own  horses,  saddles,  bridles,  and 
horse  clothing.  If  his  horses  are  killed  in  action  he  can 
recover  their  cost,  if  it  is  not  beyond  the  fair  average 
price  paid  for  troopers'  horses.  If  they  die  of  disease, 
however,  he  must  stand  the  loss  himself.  So  that  hold- 
ing a  commission  in  the  army  is  not  the  rapid  road  to 
wealth  some  people  seem  to  think.  Outside  of  his  pay 
the  only  perquisite  he  has  is  the  occupation  of  his  quar- 


144  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

ters  rent  free  when  serving  in  garrison  and  forage  for 
his  horses. 

As  for  the  army  officers  of  to-day,  a  large  percentage 
never  use  alcoholic  stimulants  at  all,  and  those  who  do 
so  usually  confine  their  drinking  to  strictly  social  occa- 
sions, such  as  dinners  and  army  reunions,  or  when 
meeting  some  old  friend  whom  they  have  not  seen  for 
a  long  time.  In  fact,  habitual  drinking  or  gambling 
as  a  general  thing  among  army  officers  no  longer  exists. 
You  will  not  infrequently  find  both  whisky  and  sherry 
on  the  sideboard  in  an  officer's  quarters,  but  unless  some 
especial  occasion  warrants  using  it,  it  remains  untouched 
for  weeks  at  a  time.  Most  of  our  officers  on  the  fron- 
tier are  habitual  smokers,  but  very  few  smoke  to  excess. 
With  many  of  them  a  brierwood  pipe  is  used  instead 
of  a  cigar,  as  it  is  easily  carried  on  a  march,  is  quite  as 
good  a  smoke,  and  costs  less,  while  the  cigarette  has  com- 
paratively little  standing.  If  an  officer  is  married  and 
has  a  growing  family  and  is  dependent  for  their  wel- 
fare and  good  support  upon  his  pay  alone  he  has  to  be 
most  economical  in  his  habits  to  keep  out  of  debt.  The 
education  of  his  children  as  they  grow  up,  which  re- 
quires their  absence  from  his  post  at  some  good  school 
or  college  in  the  East,  is  a  heavy  drain  upon  his  limited 
resources,  and  both  he  and  his  wife  strain  every  nerve 
and  deny  themselves  many  a  luxury  to  accomplish  that 
end,  and  do  it  most  cheerfully  and  uncomplainingly, 
too. 

Life  in  garrison  among  the  officers  and  their  fami- 
lies is  very  similar  to  life  among  all  well-bred  people  of 
moderate  means.  In  proportion  to  his  income  the  aver- 
age officer  is  most  liberal,  but  if  he  has  no  financial  re- 
sources outside  of  his  pay  he  is  compelled  to  calculate 


FRONTIER  FORTS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  145 

his  expenses  carefully,  especially  if  he  is  a  married  man. 
As  a  class,  the  officers  are  men  of  brain,  and  most  of 
them  are  close  students  of  their  profession.  The  aver- 
age officer  is  studious,  patient,  sober,  conscientious,  tol- 
erant, and  upright,  and  his  sense  of  duty  is  almost  ab- 
normally developed.  As  a  general  thing  he  believes 
that  no  other  government,  ancient  or  modern,  combines 
as  much  that  is  in  itself  good,  and  for  the  best  interests 
of  all  its  people,  as  does  that  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ESCOKT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK  ON  THE  ROAD. 

THE  advance  of  civilization  into  any  portion  of  our 
territory  that  had  hitherto  been  exclusively  occupied 
by  wild  Indians  was  in  most  cases  made  over  and  along 
the  original  Indian  trail,  which  experience  had  shown 
to  be,  as  a  usual  thing,  the  shortest  available  route 
across  country  between  navigable  rivers  and  the  Great 
Lakes. 

First  came  the  wily  fur  trapper,  who  followed  in 
single  file  the  tread  of  the  aborigine.  The  trapper 
learned  the  lay  of  the  land,  but  he  never  widened  the 
trail.  Then  came  an  exploring  party  of  white  adven- 
turers or  mayhap  treasure  seekers  in  the  guise  of 
miners,  who  were  apt  to  widen  it  slightly,  as  they  gen- 
erally rode  or  walked  abreast  of  one  another  for  com- 
pany's sake.  Later  on  followed  two  or  three  adven- 
turous frontiersmen  with  a  wagon  or  two  who  moved 
carefully  and  cautiously  over  it  and  widened  it  still 
more,  but  here  and  there  they  were  compelled  to  leave 
it  and  make  wide  detours  to  get  around  belts  of  thick 
timber  or  to  find  safe  fords  across  the  intersecting 
streams  and  to  avoid  deep  ravines  and  swampy  bottom 
lands,  and  then,  in  time,  came  a  marching  column  of 
soldiers,  with  heavy  wagon  trains  well  fitted  out  with 
146 


The  wagon  train. 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK. 

axe,  pick,  shovel,  and  spade,  who  held  steadily  the 
direct  line  of  the  trail  and  did  not  turn  aside  for  any 
ordinary  obstacle. 

They  moved  slowly  but  surely,  filling  up  quagmires, 
corduroying  swamps,  bridging  the  ravines  and  smaller 
streams,  cutting  down  the  steep  approaches  to  the  bot- 
tom lands  and  to  the  river  fords,  chopping  down  the 
forest  trees  standing  in  the  path,  and  opened  a  free 
highway  for  those  who  should  follow.  When  they  had 
reached  their  destination  the  trail  had  developed  into 
a  road,  which  usually  remained  an  open  one  for  all  time 
to  come,  and  it  was  recognised  as  civilization's  first  seal 
of  a  permanent  occupation  of  an  unsettled  country  by 
newcomers.  From  the  earliest  settlement  of  our  coun- 
try this  was  practically  the  gradual  way  in  which  it  was 
opened  up  to  occupation.  In  the  course  of  time  when 
the  Indians  grew  troublesome  and  attacked  the  solitary 
wagon  of  the  new  settler  and  his  family  who  followed 
on  after  the  soldiers,  seeking  for  new  and  cheap  lands 
somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of  the  frontier  army  posts, 
then  the  settlers  armed  themselves  and  travelled  in 
trains  organized  for  self-defence,  and  later,  if  experi- 
ence established  the  fact  that  these  precautions  were 
not  sufficient  for  their  protection,  emigrant  trains  were 
carefully  organized  within  the  settlements  and  sent 
out  into  the  new  country  guarded  by  soldiers.  It 
was  not  looked  upon  as  a  desirable  duty,  but  never- 
theless in  early  days  it  helped  to  develop  many  a  good 
soldier. 

This  same  method  of  guarding  commercial  supply 
trains  and  looking  after  emigrants  was  quietly  kept  up 
for  scores  of  years — in  fact,  from  almost  the  foundation 
of  our  Government  until  it  finally  culminated  in  guard- 


148  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

ing  the  surveyors  and  builders  of  the  Pacific  Eailroad 
from  1865  to  1870.  It  had  many  a  hardship  and  many 
a  forgotten  and  almost  unrecorded  hard  fight  to  mark 
its  lapse  of  years,  and  even  at  this  late  day  there  is 
little  doubt  but  one  could  find  plenty  of  material  for 
popular  romance  should  he  search  carefully  and  delve 
deep  enough  into  the  older  manuscripts  filed  carefully 
away  among  the  records  of  the  War  Department. 

A  development  of  this  early  duty  eventuated  in  sol- 
diers being  used  to  guard  the  Santa  Fe  trail,  which  is 
worth  at  least  a  passing  notice.  Overland  trade  bje- 
tween  the  United  States  and  northern  Mexico  was  a 
gradual  development  which  primarily  was  the  outcome 
of  the  curiosity  of  a  fur  trapper,  one  James  Pursley, 
who,  listening  to  the  stories  of  some  Indians  whom  he 
had  in  his  employ  about  the  wealth'  of  certain  northern 
Mexican  towns,  journeyed  on  horseback  from  the  Platte 
River  to  Santa  Fe  in  1805,  and  liked  the  place  and  peo- 
ple so  well  that  he  took  up  his  residence  there.  About 
the  same  time  a  merchant  of  Kaskaskia,  111.,  named 
Morrison  sent  a  man  named  La  Lande  with  a  stock  of 
goods  to  Santa  Fe  by  pack  train  as  a  venture.  He  (La 
Lande)  also  reached  Santa  Fe,  sold  his  goods,  forgot 
to  remit  the  proceeds  to  Morrison,  and  also  became  a 
permanent  resident  of  Santa  Fe.  It  was  not,  however, 
until  the  return  of  Captain  Pike  from  his  Southern  ex- 
ploring expedition  in  1808  with  his  glowing  account 
of  Santa  Fe  that  trade  between  the  Southwest  and 
northern  Mexico  began  to  take  on  sufficient  importance 
to  attract  the  attention  of  some  of  the  Southwestern 
traders  and  merchants.  Several  small  caravans  com- 
posed of  pack  horses  and  mules  were  started  across  the 
plains  and  reached  Santa  Fe  and  the  venture  paid  very 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK.         149 

well,  but  in  1812  a  large  and  most  elaborate  caravan 
was  seized  by  the  Mexican  authorities,  all  of  the  goods 
confiscated,  and  the  owners  imprisoned  for  nearly  nine 
years,  or  until  a  revolution  gained  them  their  liberty. 
In  1821  one  Glenn,  of  Ohio,  set  out  with  a  trading 
party,  and  in  due  time  reached  Santa  Fe  in  safety.  He 
did  so  well  that  on  his  return  his  reports  fired  the  ambi- 
tion of  nearly  all  the  Indian  traders  on  the  Southwest- 
ern frontier,  and  the  next  spring  saw  extensive  prepara- 
tions under  way  for  Santa  Fe  by  many  of  the  most 
venturesome  of  the  frontier  merchants.  For  the  first 
eighteen  years  of  this  trade  everything  in  the  shape  of 
goods  was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  packed  upon  horses 
and  mules,  and  the  trail  was  across  the  plains  over 
mountains  and  through  deep  canons  by  the  most  direct 
route  to  the  point  of  destination.  In  1824  a  company 
of  traders  from  Missouri  started  out  with  twenty-five 
stout,  well-loaded  road  wagons,  and  after  many  inter- 
esting and  exciting  incidents  reached  Santa  Fe  in 
safety,  thus  demonstrating  the  fact  that  an  open  and 
practical  roadway  for  wagons  existed  from  the  Missouri 
River  to  Santa  Fe,  a  thing  which  up  to  this  time  would 
have  been  scouted  and  jeered  at  by  any  of  the  old  pack- 
ers on  the  Santa  Fe  trail. 

Naturally  enough,  as  a  great  part  of  this  new  route 
passed  through  Indian  country,  in  the  course  of  time 
trouble  developed  with  the  Indians.  It  probably  grew 
up  from  faults  upon  both  sides. 

The  Indians  demanded  toll  in  the  shape  of  presents 
from  the  large  and  well-armed  trains,  and  took  what 
they  wished  from  the  weaker  ones.  Again  the  records 
show  that  the  white  men  on  more  than  one  occasion 

were  overbearing  and  insolent  to  the  squaws  and  unjust 
11 


150  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  their  dealings  with  the  Indians.  At  any  rate  a  state 
of  war  eventually  ensued,  and  the  Santa  Fe  trail  be- 
came a  dangerous  one,  and  the  trains  were  liable  to 
attack  from  the  Lipans,  Comanches,  and  Arapahoes 
at  almost  any  point  between  the  Missouri  and  the  Ar- 
kansas Eivers.  In  1826  a  caravan  composed  of  twelve 
men  with  but  four  rifles  between  them,  who  with  their 
wagons  were  encamped  on  the  Cimarron  Eiver,  were 
visited  by  a  party  of  Indians  who  professed  friendship. 
Perceiving  their  comparatively  defenceless  condition, 
they  went  away,  but  soon  returned  with  thirty  dis- 
mounted Indians,  each  with  a  lasso.  The  chief  de- 
manded a  horse  for  each  of  these  men,  and  as  resistance 
was  out  of  the  question  they  were  told  to  each  catch  one 
of  the  caravan's  herd.  This  they  did,  and  then  de- 
manded a  second  mount.  The  men  had  to  acquiesce 
in  this  new  robbery,  and  then  the  band  dashed  into 
their  herd  of  over  five  hundred  horses,  mules,  and  asses 
and  drove  them  all  off,  leaving  the  traders  completely 
stranded. 

In  1828  two  young  men  named  Monroe  and  McNees, 
having  fallen  asleep  on  the  bank  of  a  little  stream 
within  sight  of  their  caravan,  were  discovered  by 
prowling  Indians  and  shot  to  death  with  their  own  guns 
that  lay  by  their  side. 

From  this  time  forward  trouble  constantly  ensued, 
so  that  in  the  spring  of  1829  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment gave  both  cavalry  and  infantry  escorts  from  In- 
dependence, Mo.,  the  point  from  which  these  caravans 
started,  to  as  far  as  Choteau  Island  on  the  Arkansas 
."River — that  is,  through  the  Comanche  country. 

This  Western  overland  trade  to  Mexico  reached  its 
climax  in  1843,  when  the  caravan  consisted  of  nearly 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK.         151 

three  hundred  wagons  carrying  merchandise  valued  at 
nearly  half  a  million  dollars. 

About  that  time,  however,  supplies  began  to  come 
into  northern  Mexico  from  Vera  Cruz  on  the  Mexican 
coast,  and  heavy  duties  laid  and  enforced  by  the  Mexi- 
cans left  no  adequate  margin  of  profit  for  the  overland 
traders,  so  that  it  steadily  decreased  until  after  the 
Mexican  War,  when  it  revived  again  for  a  few  years; 
but  in  time  the  Santa  Fe  Railway  absorbed  it  all,  and 
to-day  the  great  Santa  Fe  trail  is  simply  a  matter  of 
half-forgotten  story. 

Escort  duty  was  always  distasteful,  and  of  all  escort 
duty  that  with  a  "  bull "  or  "  ox  train  "  was  the  worst. 
Man  was  subordinated  to  the  beast,  because  the  distance 
made,  the  time  of  starting,  the  length  of  the  stops, 
the  situation  of  camps,  everything  connected  with  trav- 
elling, depended  upon  grass,  the  animal's  sole  food.  If 
a  fine  grazing  place  was  reached  a  halt  was  called 
and  the  stock  turned  out  with  a  blissful  indifference 
to  everything  else,  even  to  water.  The  stock  did  not 
require  it,  and  the  men  must  be  satisfied  with  the  water 
kept  in  little  kegs  which  were  fastened  to  the  wagons. 
These  kegs  were  supposed  to  be  freshly  filled  at  the 
streams  upon  which  the  command  had  last  encamped, 
though  this  important  detail  might  possibly  have  been 
forgotten.  It  was  kept  only  for  cooking  and  drinking, 
lavation  not  being  the  "  bull  whackers' "  strong  point. 

Oh,  the  tedium  of  it  all!  The  starting  twice  a  day 
in  the  small  hours  of  both  meridians;  the  diurnal 
journey  of  from  seven  to  twelve  miles  in  a  trip  of  one 
or  two  hundred  miles  and  return.  The  train,  number- 
ing from  twenty  to  fifty  wagons,  rolled  out  in  the  matu- 
tinal twilight  to  an  accompaniment  of  cracking  whips, 


152  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  yells  and  teamsters'  oaths,  the  officer  commanding 
the  escort,  bored  and  sleepy,  riding  a  few  yards  ahead 
of  the  leading  wagon,  the  escort  scattered  about  where 
it  could  do  the  most  good  in  the  event  of  sudden  need. 
At  the  end  of  the  first  mile  up  gallops  a  wagon  master. 
"  Leftenant,"  he  says,  "  Hunk  Hansen  has  shed  a  tire, 
and  we'll  have  to  put  it  back."  Everything  stops,  for 
it  will  not  do  to  separate  the  train.  The  tire  is  put  on 
and  a  fresh  start  made.  Half  an  hour  later  a  wagon 
master  is  at  the  escort  commander's  side  again.  "  That 
idiot  Doby  Dave,"  he  exclaims,  "  never  told  me  he  had 
a  split  yoke  before  we  left  camp,  and  now  it  comes  apart, 
blast  him!  and  I've  got  to  go  through  the  wagons  or 
band  the  yoke."  "  Which  can  you  do  more  quickly," 
asks  the  lieutenant  patiently.  "  Band  her."  "  Do  it, 
then."  Another  halt,  another  half  hour  or  hour  lost, 
and  so  it  goes  through  the  day,  day  after  day,  in  rain 
and  shine,  always  in  heat,  for  freighting  is  possible 
only  when  the  grass  is  green.  And  there  is  ever  a 
steady  strain  of  responsibility  on  the  officer.  He  well 
knows  that  he  is  followed  and  watched,  and  should  he 
be  caught  napping  he  will  surely  have  to  pay  the  pen- 
alty, for  the  stock  is  a  prize  that  the  Indians  will  risk 
much  to  secure.  They  know  his  route,  the  length  of 
time  he  will  be  on  the  road,  and  his  destination,  and  he 
must  act  accordingly.  The  men,  naturally  enough,  be- 
come weary  of  the  slow  progress,  the  short  halts,  and 
the  nightly  hard  guard  duty.  They  do  not  care  to  affili- 
ate with  the  teamsters,  and  get  tired  of  each  other,  and, 
in  fact,  it  is  a  dreary  business  all  around.  As  the  train 
is  groaning  and  creaking  its  slow  way  over  a  bit  of  roll- 
ing country  a  cry  of  "  Indians,  Indians! "  suddenly 
conies  from  the  flankers,  and  a  band  of  Indians  dash 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK.         153 

rapidly  forward  out  of  a  hollow  toward  the  wagons,  yell- 
ing and  firing  as  they  advance.  The  soldiers  spring 
quickly  to  their  stations  and  promptly  return  the  fire, 
and  the  drivers  instantly  begin  to  form  a  park  hy  turn- 
ing their  teams.  So  the  Indians,  seeing  that  the  at- 
tempted stampede  is  a  failure,  fire  a  parting  volley  and 
disappear.  They  had  hoped  to  surprise  the  train  and 
run  off  some  of  the  cattle.  A  day  or  two  later  an  at- 
tempt will  be  made  to  wile  away  the  herd  while  it  is 
grazing,  but  the  guard  will  be  on  the  alert,  and,  expect- 
ing such  an  effort,  will  frustrate  it.  However,  the  Indi- 
ans were  not  always  unsuccessful;  wagon  trains  were 
bereft  by  them  of  every  animal  they  possessed,  and  the 
mortified  losers  compelled  to  wait  ingloriously  for  relief 
to  arrive  from  some  adjacent  post  or  else  go  after  it  on 
foot. 

Another  unpopular  duty  was  escorting  Government 
and  contractors'  mule  trains.  It  was  similar  in  many 
ways  to  escorting  ox  trains,  but  free  from  the  tedious- 
ness  incident  to  the  slow  daily  progress.  The  mule 
trains  travelled  from  twenty  to  thirty  miles  a  day  with- 
out a  break.  The  escorts  were  larger  and  the  work 
harder  on  account  of  the  greatly  increased  responsibil- 
ity. A  herd  of  horses  or  mules  was  to  the  Indian  free- 
booters of  the  plains  what  the  gold-laden  galleons  of 
Spain  were  to  Howard  and  his  cutthroats  on  the  Pa- 
cific. From  the  moment  a  mule  train  entered  a  hos- 
tile Indian  country  until  it  left  it  there  raged  a  contest 
of  wits  between  the  officer  in  charge  and  the  wiliest, 
shrewdest,  most  cunning  horse  thieves  that  ever  the 
sun  shone  on.  The  Indians,  more  eager  than  when 
on  the  track  of  an  ox  train,  were  untiring  in  the  pur- 
suit of  their  prey.  The  careful  commandant  had  his 


154  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

escort  posted  before  daybreak,  the  most  dangerous 
time  of  all,  in  readiness  for  whatever  might  happen; 
and  afterward,  during  the  preparations  for  the  early 
start,  he  exercised  great  care  and  vigilance  against  sur- 
prise from  any  quarter.  Getting  away  from  camp  was 
the  first  and  almost  the  greatest  of  the  day's  anxieties. 
The  train  moved  with  advance  and  rear  guards,  while 
the  rest  of  the  escort  were  distributed  along  the  sides 
of  the  wagons.  This  formation  was  regularly  main- 
tained while  the  train  was  on  the  road  except  when 
crossing  wide  open  reaches.  It  did  not  prevent  the 
making  of  sudden  dashes  by  the  Indians,  but  it  kept 
them  as  a  rule  from  being  successful.  Camp  reached, 
the  animals  were  watered  and  turned  out  to  graze.  A 
number  of  mounted  "mule  skinners,"  as  the  drivers 
were  called,  went  with  them  as  herders,  and  always  all 
the  soldiers  except  the  cooks  were  sent  out  with  the 
herd  also.  A  good  commanding  officer  took  no  unne- 
cessary risks. 

After  dinner  the  camp  was  at  rest.  Toward  sunset 
guard  mounting  caused  a  flurry  of  excitement,  and 
shortly  afterward  retreat  ended  the  day.  By  the  time 
the  evening  was  fairly  under  way  back  in  the  East,  "  at 
home,"  the  camp  was  asleep. 

Such  work  as  this  was  easy  enough.  There  was  no 
great  hardship  about  it;  rather  the  contrary.  One 
would  be  difficult  to  please  if  he  could  not  find  enjoy- 
ment in  travelling  with  a  column  of  soldiers.  But  there 
were  marches  of  all  sorts.  It  is  one  thing  to  cross  a 
country  leisurely,  knowing  that  every  night's  rest  will 
be  comfortable;  it  is  another  to  struggle  through  the 
deadly  cold  of  midwinter  with  a  rampant  blizzard  driv- 
ing the  snow  in  one's  face,  knowing  that  when  the 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK.         155 

entire  journey  is  ended  a  bit  of  canvas  will  be  the  only 
shelter  for  the  remainder  of  the  intensely  cold  weather 
till  spring  comes. 

A  column  going  to  the  relief  of  others  in  dire 
straits  or  making  forced  marches  in  a  pressing  emer- 
gency travels  in  much  the  usual  manner,  except  that 
there  is  no  camping  from  noon  to  daybreak,  but  a  con- 
stant pressing  onward,  stopping  only  for  food  and  when 
necessity  compels  a  halt  to  keep  the  command  from 
giving  out. 

But  the  highways  of  Western  commerce  no  longer 
resound  with  the  crack,  loud  as  a  pistol  shot,  of  the 
"  bull  whacker's  "  lash.  In  far-off  corners  of  the  land 
a  few  relics  of  his  former  greatness  lumber  on  the  back 
dirt  roads,  but  their  glory  has  departed;  a  little  longer 
and  they  will  disappear  entirely  before  the  utilitarian 
railway.  In  the  same  manner  there  is  now  and  then  a 
stage  running  in  benighted  regions  beyond  the  locomo- 
tive's reach,  but  both  must  soon  be  sought  for  by  the 
curious.  Yet  within  a  lifetime's  span  all  the  roads  be- 
yond the  Missouri  were  covered  with  these  huge  clumsy, 
but  strongly  built  wagons,  and  the  supplies  of  all  kinds 
were  transported  in  them.  One  met  them  everywhere 
proceeding  tortoise  fashion,  with  the  tortoise  certainty 
of  arriving  at  last.  They  plied  between  the  towns  in 
the  settled  districts  and  they  carried  freight  to  the  re- 
motest army  outposts,  and  when  doing  the  latter  they 
were  always  escorted  by  soldiers. 

From  1865  to  1870  on  the  great  plains  the  railroad 
construction  parties  at  the  end  of  the  tracks  of  the 
Pacific  Eailroad,  which  was  steadily  pushed  forward 
from  day  to  day,  were  not  infrequently  attacked  by 
war  parties  of  the  Sioux  and  Cheyennes,  who,  having 


156  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

concealed  themselves  in  some  near-by  arroyo  or  swale  in 
the  apparently  flat  plain,  would  seem  to  start  out  of 
the  earth,  swoop  suddenly  down  upon  the  foremost 
labourers,  kill  and  scalp  one  or  two  of  them,  and  dash 
away  on  their  fleet  ponies  almost  before  the  men  in 
their  immediate  vicinity  could  grasp  their  arms  or  were 
fully  aware  that  they  were  being  attacked.  This  led  to 
the  employment  of  our  infantry  as  a  guard,  and  as 
some  of  our  officers  and  men  were  equally  as  good  as 
the  Indians  at  ambuscades,  the  enemy  now  and  then 
paid  dearly  for  his  temerity,  losing  some  of  his  best 
warriors  in  these  assaults,  with  no  adequate  return  in 
casualties  upon  our  side.  Little  could  be  done  except 
by  keeping  close  watch  to  avert  these  attacks,  and 
gradually  the  workmen  grew  to  accept  them  as  some- 
thing that  had  to  be  grimly  and  patiently  borne. 

Now  and  then  after  the  Indians  had  not  shown 
themselves  for  days  the  railroad  men  would  grow  care- 
less, or  perhaps  the  word  reckless  would  best  express 
their  actions.  On  one  occasion,  while  the  Kansas  Pa- 
cific road  was  in  course  of  construction  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Smoky  Hill  Eiver  in  Colorado,  five  or  six  of  the 
teamsters  during  nooning  hour  on  a  hot  midsummer 
day,  despite  positive  orders  to  the  contrary,  strayed  over 
toward  the  river  bank,  a  good  quarter  of  a  mile  away, 
and  dropped  down  in  the  shade  of  a  solitary  cottonwood 
tree  that  grew  there.  In  a  few  moments  a  well-mount- 
ed war  party  of  eight  or  ten  Cheyennes,  who  were  lying 
concealed  in  the  river  bottom  just  under  a  cut  bank 
on  this  side  of  the  river,  suddenly  dashed  out  and  made 
for  them.  But  one  of  the  party  had  any  arms,  and  he 
had  only  a  revolver.  In  a  moment  the  Indians  were 
upon  them,  and  the  men,  running  for  their  lives,  started 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK.         157 

toward  the  railroad,  while  the  soldiers,  grasping  their 
rifles,  ran  to  their  rescue,  opening  fire  on  the  Indians  as 
they  ran.  Two  of  the  teamsters  were  shot  down  and 
scalped,  but  the  man  with  the  revolver  kept  his  head, 
and  by  threatening  the  nearest  warriors  caused  them  to 
sheer  off  as  they  closed  on  him,  and  the  soldiers  getting 
within  range  soon  made  it  so  hot  for  them  that  they 
fled.  One  of  the  men,  however,  a  long-legged  Mis- 
sourian  teamster,  had  been  headed  off  on  his  way  to  the 
track  by  an  enterprising  warrior,  who  sought  to  run 
him  down  and  transfix  him  with  a  spear  after  he  had 
failed  to  hit  him  with  a  rifle  shot.  This  teamster  hap- 
pened to  have  had  a  new  leather-thonged  bull  whip  is- 
sued to  him  that  day,  and,  having  some  misgivings  as  to 
whether  he  would  find  it  in  his  wagon  on  his  return 
from  his  dinner,  had,  fortunately  for  himself,  taken  it 
with  him  when  he  and  his  companions  sought  their 
noon  siesta  under  the  cottonwood  tree.  Eunning  for 
dear  life,  he  unconsciously  held  the  whip  in  his  hand, 
and  just  as  the  Indian  was  upon  him,  and  about  to 
transfix  him  by  hurling  his  spear,  he  glanced  over  his 
shoulder  and  almost  instinctively  made  a  backward 
cut  with  his  whip  at  the  Indian's  pony,  the  lash  strik- 
ing the  animal  full  in  the  face.  The  horse  swerved  so 
suddenly  as  to  derange  the  warrior's  aim,  and,  though 
he  hurled  the  missile,  the  spear  missed  its  mark,  and  as 
the  pony  dashed  close  by  him  our  teamster  saw  his 
only  chance. 

Grasping  the  tail  of  the  now  frightened  and  fleeing 
animal,  he  began  a  hail  of  strokes  on  the  bare  back  of 
the  Indian  that  only  one  who  has  seen  the  way  in 
which  a  Western  bull  whacker  can  handle  a  blacksnake 
whip  can  fully  appreciate.  Every  stroke  drew  blood, 


158  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  the  teamster  rained  down  the  lashes  unsparingly 
and  savagely. 

In  vain  did  the  Indian  cower  to  his  pony's  back  and 
dig  his  heels  into  his  sides  and  lash  the  animal  desper- 
ately with  his  quirt,  for  the  teamster  held  on  like  grim 
death  as  he  ran  and  plied  his  strokes  swiftly  and  un- 
erringly, and  it  was  not  until  he  was  exhausted  with 
running  and  stumbled  over  a  hillock  that  the  Indian's 
pony  broke  loose  and  with  a  parting  cut  of  the  team- 
ster's whip  across  his  hind  legs  tore  madly  away  toward 
his  companions,  where  the  other  mounted  warriors, 
fearing  the  aim  of  the  soldiers  and  not  daring  to  come 
to  his  rider's  rescue,  were  galloping  wildly  around  just 
out  of  rifle  range,  whooping,  laughing,  and  yelling 
with  delight  at  the  absurd  plight  of  the  discomfited 
warrior,  who,  it  is  safe  to  say,  from  henceforth  until 
he  had  managed  to  rehabilitate  himself  by  some  daring 
deed  of  blood,  would  be  dubbed  and  held  only  a  squaw 
in  the  Indian's  camp.  As  for  our  long-legged  Missouri 
teamster,  he  was  the  hero  of  the  hour,  and,  considering 
the  circumstances,  he  well  deserved  to  be. 

Orders  to  march  differ  materially.  Sometimes  am- 
ple time  is  given  for  preparation,  as,  for  instance,  when 
commands  are  notified  months  in  advance  that  they 
will  be  required  for  certain  purposes.  Occasionally  a 
horseman  dashes  up  to  the  quarters  of  the  command- 
ing officer  of  a  remote  post  with  a  letter  from  depart- 
ment headquarters  ordering  a  part  of  the  garrison  into 
the  field  at  once  on  account  of  an  Indian  outbreak  or 
raid.  In  such  a  case  the  troops  will  be  en  route  within 
an  hour  or  two.  They  may  be  absent  for  any  length 
of  time,  from  a  week  to  six  months,  and  they  may  not 
return  at  all  to  the  post  they  leave,  but  take  station 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK.         159 

elsewhere  when  the  emergency  that  called  them  out  is 
past.  That,  however,  is  an  incident  of  service  of  which 
no  account  is  taken  at  the  time  except  by  the  lonely 
women  who  are  left  behind. 

At  stations  on  the  frontier  a  command  of  no  matter 
what  size  is  expected  to  be  always  ready  to  take  up  arms 
at  a  moment's  notice.  Each  troop  and  company  has  a 
field  equipment,  which  is  kept  complete  and  serviceable. 
It  is  often  inspected  and  frequently  overhauled,  and 
all  missing  parts  and  those  unfit  for  immediate  use  are 
at  once  replaced.  When  an  order  comes  all  that  is 
necessary  is  to  draw  rations,  load  the  wagons,  and  be 
off.  If  time  is  allowed  the  barrack  is  dismantled  and 
the  dress  uniforms,  furniture,  and  mess  ware  are  packed 
in  the  large  cases  kept  on  hand  for  the  purpose.  Other- 
wise the  noncommissioned  officer  and  the  one  or  two 
privates  detailed  to  remain  behind  in  charge  of  the 
property  do  the  packing  after  the  men  have  gone.  It  is 
relatively  the  same  with  the  officers.  They  all  have 
their  field  equipage  in  perfect  order  and  in  good  condi- 
tion for  instant  use,  and  when  an  order  to  take  the 
field  comes  the  blankets,  valise,  and  mess  chest  are 
quickly  piled  on  the  board  walk  before  the  officers'  quar- 
ters all  ready  for  the  quartermaster  sergeant  to  pack 
with  the  other  baggage. 

There  are  occasional  drills  in  preparing  for  the  field. 
A  captain,  sitting  at  his  breakfast  table,  receives  an 
order  to  fit  his  company,  as  soon  as  practicable,  for 
a  thirty  days'  tour  of  detached  service.  It  is  the  first 
intimation  he  has  received,  and  he  at  once  sends  direc- 
tions to  the  first  sergeant.  A  lively  movement  ensues 
in  the  quarters,  although  everything  proceeds  sys- 
tematically; there  is  no  useless  excitement  nor  loss  of 


160  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

time  through  aimless  haste.  Each  man  has  long  be- 
forehand had  his  share  of  the  work  allotted  to  him, 
and  in  what  would  seem  to  civilians  an  incredibly  short 
time  wagons  are  packed  and  the  company  is  paraded, 
ready  to  march  out,  and  everything  awaits  the  post 
commander's  inspection.  Practice  of  this  sort  enables 
wonders  in  the  way  of  quick  movements  to  be  per- 
formed when  an  imperative  order  for  urgent  service  is 
received. 

There  are  few  more  attractive  sights  than  a  camp 
asleep  far  out  on  the  lonely  plains.  The  lines  and  rows 
of  tents  gleam  like  spectres  in  the  shadowy  moonlight, 
relieved  only  by  the  glimmer  of  a  lantern  in  the  guard 
tent;  or  where,  at  the  end  of  a  company  street,  a  dying 
cook  fire,  flashing  up  in  a  last  effort,  throws  a  yellow 
glare  on  the  tents  near  it  and  perhaps  upon  a  wakeful 
man  or  two  hovering  over  the  embers.  The  only  sound 
that  breaks  the  profound  stillness  is  the  soft  tread  of 
an  alert  sentry  pacing  the  inside  beat,  the  rattle  of  a 
halter  chain  as  a  mule  in  the  wagon  park  searches  for 
grain  in  his  feed  box,  or  a  cavalry  horse  on  the  picket 
line  impatiently  paws  the  ground,  while  the  scarcely 
to  be  distinguished  forms  of  the  sentinels  slowly  march- 
ing back  and  forth  on  the  borders  of  the  limits  of  the 
camp  are  the  only  evidences  of  life  and  motion  in  sight. 
As  one  looks  on  the  scene  and  feels  its  influence  it  is 
hard  to  believe  that  lying  there  in  the  soft  moonlight, 
as  if  carved  in  silver  and  marble,  is  nothing  but  the 
commonplace  camp  of  the  afternoon,  and  that  before 
dawn  it  will  awake,  throw  off  the  midnight  spell,  and 
once  more  take  on  again  its  ordinary  commonplace 
aspect. 

It  is  still  dark,  and  the  sentry  on  Post  No.  3,  wishing 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE   WORK.          161 

for  morning,  looks  eagerly  toward  the  east,  where  as  yet 
he  sees  no  sign  of  daybreak,  but  even  as  he  looks  the  flap 
of  the  guard  tent  behind  him  rises  and  falls,  the  orderly 
trumpeter  steps  forth,  and  an  instant  later  the  notes 
of  the  first  call  for  reveille  ring  clearly  out  and  cut  the 
startled  air.  In  a  moment  muffled  sounds  are  heard  all 
over  camp,  and  the  tents  on  the  company  streets  be- 
come faintly  luminous,  followed  quickly  by  those  on  the 
officers'  line.  Spots  of  deeper  darkness  appear,  dart  to 
and  fro,  and  then  congregate  in  front  of  the  tents  for 
roll  call.  Here  and  there  low  gruff  tones  are  heard 
and  a  lantern  bobs  about  in  each  street.  Oaths  come 
volleying  up  from  the  corral,  where  the  teamsters  are 
already  feeding  and  grooming  their  mules.  Ten  min- 
utes pass,  and  the  trumpets  blare  out  the  reveille  and 
the  work  of  the  day  has  begun.  The  company  cooks, 
who  have  been  quietly  at  work  for  some  time,  now 
serve  breakfast  to  the  men,  who  stand  waiting  with  tin 
plates  in  their  hands.  That  over,  packing  begins. 
Everything  is  being  loaded  on  the  company  wagons, 
which  have  driven  up,  except  the  tents,  which  have  not 
yet  been  taken  down,  and  a  few  belated  rolls  of  bed- 
ding. About  the  time  this  is  completed  the  trumpets 
sound  the  "  general,"  and  down  go  the  tents  simultane- 
ously, having  been  struck  by  the  waiting  camp  guard, 
whether  their  occupants  are  ready  to  leave  them  or  not. 
If  they  are  not,  they  crawl  from  under  the  overthrown 
canvas  in  a  fine  state  of  rage  with  a  voluble  flow  of 
indignant  language.  But  no  notice  is  taken  of  that; 
most  likely  it  is  unheeded  in  the  rush  to  fold  the  tents 
and  put  them  on  the  wagons  before  the  assembly 
sounds.  Not  much  time  is  given  for  the  final  prepara- 
tions, and  very  soon  after  the  general  the  assembly 


162  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 


"goes,"  and  the  battalion  is  formed  and  the  march 
begins,  just  as  broad  bands  of  light  athwart  the  east- 
ern sky  give  the  earliest  indications  of  the  coming  sun- 
rise. 

When  they  can  be  fairly  distinguished  through  the 
early  morning  mists  the  commanding  officer  and  staff, 
riding  at  the  head  of  the  column,  have  a  weird  and 
ghostly  look,  and  the  long  line  behind  them  appears 
gray  and  indistinct.  If  the  country  is  a  hostile  one 
the  column  moves  with  both  advance  and  rear  guards, 
as  well  as  with  flankers,  the  latter  well  out  on  each 
side  of  the  main  body,  watching  eagerly  for  the  slight- 
est evidence  of  the  foe's  proximity. 

Marching  on  the  plains  does  not  mean  passing  from 
one  camp  ground  to  another  over  a  road  at  so  many 
miles  an  hour.  More  than  likely  a  command  must  de- 
pend on  a  guide  to  show  it  the  way  and  make  its  road 
as  it  goes  along.  "When  leaving  camp  in  the  morning 
no  one  can  tell  what  work  the  day  may  develop.  Deep 
ravines  may  have  to  be  made  fit  with  pick  and  spade 
for  the  passage  of  the  wagons,  streams  bridged,  or  a 
ford  with  a  quicksand  bottom  hardened.  If  it  is  spring- 
time swampy  places  may  have  to  be  corduroyed;  these 
things  cause  delays  of  hours,  even  of  days,  and  the  ex- 
penditure of  much  labour.  Accidents  happen  to  the 
wagon  train,  always  a  care  and  an  impediment;  parts 
of  it  frequently  have  to  be  dragged  up  a  steep  hill  or 
lowered  by  guy  ropes  down  one.  These  and  many  other 
vexations  come  in  the  day's  journey,  but  are  always 
surmounted.  It  is  at  such  times  that  the  ingenuity  and 
resource  of  the  soldier  in  the  West  are  displayed  in  their 
versatility.  No  matter  how  great  the  obstacle  to  fur- 
ther progress  may  be  there  is  always  some  one  at  hand, 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK.         163 

officer  or  man,  ready  and  able  to  overcome  it.  It  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  no  exigency  of  service  on  the 
plains  has  arisen  that  has  not  been  dealt  with  and  suc- 
cessfully met.  Guides,  generally  old-time  fur  trappers, 
being  human,  sometimes,  though  rarely,  miss  the  way, 
and  of  all  trials  that  is  the  greatest.  The  having  to 
double  on  one's  self  takes  the  heart  out  of  the  com- 
mand, and  while  all  other  mishaps  are  faced  cheer- 
fully, this  one  always  causes  bitterness  and  anger. 
Even  the  length  of  a  day's  march  can  not  be  deter- 
mined beforehand.  On  the  plains  water  puts  in  such 
infrequent  appearances  that  it  regulates  all  travel,  and 
a  day's  march  is  commonly  from  water  to  water,  and 
that  may  be  anywhere  from  eight  to  eight-and-twenty 
miles. 

But  instead  of  lingering  over  the  laborious  and 
vexatious  side  of  field  work,  it  will  be  pleasanter  to 
learn  something  about  how  a  march  is  conducted  when 
there  are  no  hostile  Indians  hovering  around.  During 
the  first  hour,  or  until  the  sun  is  well  up,  the  command 
plods  along  slowly,  the  men's  legs  are  not  limbered  up, 
and  sleep  still  hovers  about  their  eyelids;  but  gradually 
a  hum  of  talk  and  laughter  rises,  and  in  time  every  one 
strikes  his  regular  pace,  the  company  officers  get  to- 
gether at  the  head  of  their  organizations,  and  the  dis- 
tance between  the  column  and  the  wagon  train  which 
followed  it  out  of  camp  increases.  During  the  ten-min- 
ute halts  in  each  hour  the  men  skylark  and  everything 
is  cheerful  and  merry.  Later,  as  the  total  of  miles  trav- 
elled grows  large,  the  hum  and  buzz  dies  down;  during 
the  halts  the  men  lie  on  their  backs  instead  of  sky- 
larking; and  when  the  march  is  resumed  it  takes  a  min- 
ute or  two  to  fall  into  the  regular  gait,  and  the  head 


164:  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  the  wagon  train,  out  of  sight  a  little  while  ago,  is 
seen  to  draw  steadily  nearer.  The  battalion  slowly 
drags  itself  to  the  top  of  a  rise  as  the  head  of  the  col- 
umn gains  it,  and  the  music  boys  see  on  the  plain  far 
ahead  a  dark  line,  which  they  know  to  be  bushes  or 
trees,  and  it  shows  the  next  camp  ground,  for  they  mark 
the  location  of  water.  A  thrill  runs  through  the  com- 
mand. The  talk  begins  again,  the  feet  grow  lighter, 
and  the  last  two  or  three  miles  are  dashed  off  at  a  rat- 
tling pace.  Camp  is  reached,  and  it  is  about  twelve 
o'clock.  The  cavalry,  which  left  the  last  camp  half 
an  hour  after  the  infantry,  has,  by  passing  it  on 
the  way,  arrived  an  hour  earlier,  and  is  already  com- 
fortably settled  for  the  night. 

As  the  company  wagons  come  within  two  or  three 
miles  of  the  night's  camp  ground  sundry  privates,  who 
have  been  riding  on  them  all  day,  dart  down  on  any  dead 
branches  or  sticks  they  see  in  the  road  or  on  its  border 
and  toss  them  into  the  feed  box.  If  it  happens  to  be  in 
a  sparsely  wooded  district,  the  competition  is  eager,  and 
several  claimants  for  the  same  piece  frequently  dispute 
as  to  its  rightful  ownership,  even  going  so  far  as  to  have 
a  free  fight.  These  men  are  the  company  cooks  anxious 
to  insure  the  starting  of  their  fires  immediately  after 
reaching  camp  without  having  to  wait  for  the  fuel  that 
the  wood  party  will  bring  in  after  the  tents  are  pitched. 
Before  the  wagons  have  been  backed  into  position  for 
unloading  at  the  bottom  of  the  company  streets  these 
same  wood  pickers  are  hauling  and  pushing  about  them, 
each  searching  in  the  wagons  for  a  spade  or  shovel  in 
order  to  cut  a  fire  trench.  One  is  soon  found,  and  the 
fires  are  blazing  merrily  under  the  filled  camp  kettles 
ere  the  canvas  walls  are  raised.  It  is  well  for  them 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK.       165 

that  the  cooks  do  move  quickly,  for  long  marches  and 
keen  air,  purified  on  mountain  tops,  give  good  appe- 
tites. No  sooner  are  the  canvas  walls  raised,  a  matter 
of  a  very  few  moments,  than  sharp  inquiries  as  to  the 
condition  of  supper  pour  rapidly  in,  followed  by  indig- 
nant remonstrances  if  the  answers  are  not  satisfactory, 
but  fortunately  they  usually  are  so,  and  in  a  surpris- 
ingly short  time  the  men,  each  with  his  tin  plate  and 
cup,  receives  his  evening  meal.  It  is  not  an  elaborate 
one,  the  bill  of  fare  being  the  same  as  for  breakfast — 
namely,  coffee,  bacon,  and  hard  bread.  Each  one  after 
he  is  served  goes  where  he  pleases  and  eats  his  meal  in 
the  manner  that  suits  him  best.  In  old  days  variety 
could  not  be  maintained  when  storage  space  was  small 
and  frequent  replenishing  impossible,  so  only  the  staple 
articles  were  carried  in  the  company  mess  kits.  Pota- 
toes and  onions,  if  obtainable,  were  taken;  but,  al- 
though used  most  sparingly,  they  did  not  last  long. 
A  stoppage  of  a  day  or  so  permitted  bean  soup,  beans, 
dried  apples  or  peaches,  biscuits,  and  fresh  bread  to 
grace  the  board.  Generally,  however,  the  fare  while 
en  route  was  about  that  given  above.  Game  used  to  be 
abundant,  and  there  were  hunters  always  ready  to  take 
advantage  of  any  opportunities,  and  consequently  it  was 
not  a  rarity.  Nowadays  prepared  and  tinned  foods  have 
greatly  enlarged  and  improved  the  travelling  ration. 

The  officers'  messes  were  of  course  more  elaborate, 
as  they  furnished  their  own  supplies,  and  they  had  din- 
ing tents  and  table  furniture,  and  maintained,  as  far 
as  practicable,  the  customs  of  the  garrison,  although 
until  the  advent  of  the  multitude  of  tinned  things 
many  times  the  fare  had  to  be  almost  identical  with 

that  of  the  enlisted  men. 
12 


166  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

The  number  and  style  of  tents  carried  depended  on 
the  nature  of  the  duty  to  be  performed  and  the  amount 
of  wagon  transportation.  When  the  latter  was  lim- 
ited or  the  need  for  haste  urgent  each  man  carried  half 
of  a  shelter  tent.  Two  halves  buttoned  together  and 
held  upright  by  twigs  cut  from  near-by  trees  made  a 
covering  for  two  men  to  sleep  under,  and  looked  some- 
thing like  this:  yj \  .  Ordinarily  the  enlisted 

men  were  supplied  with  common  or  A  tents  (  /  \    \  ), 

so  called  from  their  resemblance  to  the  capital  letter. 
On  a  pinch  four  were  assigned  to  one;  commonly,  how- 
ever, two  were  told  off.  When  A  tents  were  carried  the 

officers  used  wall  tents  (  /\ A.),  one  officer  in  a 

tent.  At  other  times  they  used  the  A  tents.  There 
was  also  the  Sibley  tent,  fashioned  on  the  lines  of  an 
Indian  tepee.  It  is  the  largest  of  all  field  tents,  ac- 
commodating fifteen  to  twenty  men.  There  were  many 
occasions  when  no  tents  were  issued  and  every  one 
bivouacked  with  a  rolled-up  overcoat  or  a  saddle  for 
a  pillow  and  a  blanket  or  two  for  cover,  while  the 
star-studded  sky  made  a  gorgeous  if  cool  canopy  in  lieu 
of  the  ordinary  bit  of  white  canvas. 

Sometimes  at  night,  when  the  weather  was  clear 
and  not  overcold,  the  men  would  lie  wide  awake  upon 
their  backs  for  hours  at  a  stretch,  looking  straight  up 
at  the  wonderful  beauty  of  the  heavens,  talking  to  each 
other  in  low  tones,  and  enjoying  to  their  hearts'  con- 
tent the  awe-inspiring  sight  of  a  starlight  night  far  out 
on  the  plains,  where  the  air  is  so  pure  that  the  stars 
seem  to  shine  with  a  lustre  unknown  to  those  of  moun- 


ESCORT  DUTY  AND  ROUTINE  WORK.          167 

tains  and  cities,  and  to  swing  lower  in  the  blue  vault  of 
heaven  than  anywhere  else. 

It  is  such  hours  as  these  that  help  to  lend  the  name- 
less fascination  to  a  soldier's  life  on  the  plains  that 
never  entirely  leaves  him  and  often  stirs  his  blood  even 
years  after  he  has  left  the  service  and  is  a  gray-haired 
man  with  a  growing  family  around  him  that  safely 
anchors  him  to  civil  life. 


CHAPTEE   VIII. 

THE  INDIAN  TROUBLES   OF  THE  WESTERN   FRONTIER  IN 
1866   AND    1867. 

SCARCELY  had  the  echoes  of  the  guns  at  Appomat- 
tox  Courthouse  died  away  when  the  demands  of  the 
West  for  protection  from  the  warlike  Indians  on  the 
great  plains  forced  themselves  upon  the  attention  of 
Congress,  and  the  urgent  needs  of  the  Western  fron- 
tier, which  had  necessarily  been  neglected  during  the 
civil  war,  became  once  again  one  of  the  absorbing  ques- 
tions of  the  hour.  The  massacre  of  the  whites  in  upper 
Minnesota  and  Dakota  by  the  Sioux  in  1862,  in  which 
scores  of  unoffending  settlers  were  ruthlessly  slaugh- 
tered, their  wives  and  daughters  first  outraged  then 
killed,  or  else  with  their  little  children  carried  into  a 
captivity  worse  than  death,  while  their  houses  were 
given  to  the  flames  and  their  growing  crops  destroyed, 
was  to  many  of  our  people  who  believed  that  the  Indian 
troubles  were  a  thing  of  the  past  a  new  and  startling 
revelation. 

These  Indians  were  generally  regarded  as  well  on 
the  way  toward  civilization.  Missions  had  been  es- 
tablished among  them,  and  some  of  them  had  appar- 
ently abandoned  the  lodge  and  tepee  for  fairly  well- 
constructed  houses,  adopted  the  clothing  of  the  whites, 
168 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.   169 

and  had  ceased  to  be  generally  looked  upon  as  wild  or 
blanket  Indians.  Yet  many  of  these  same  semi  civilized 
savages  aided  the  wild  tribes  and  helped  them  massacre 
six  hundred  and  forty-four  people  before  the  Minne- 
sota volunteers  under  General  Sibley  finally  overcame 
and  put  down  the  uprising.  At  the  close  of  our  civil 
war  the  entire  line  of  the  advanced  frontier  settlements 
on  our  Northern,  Southern,  and  Western  borders  had 
been  slowly  driven  in  and  back  upon  the  well-settled 
and  populous  communities  by  the  various  tribes  who 
had  learned  the  use  of  firearms,  abandoned  the  bow  and 
arrow,  save  for  use  in  hunting  game,  and  through  the 
cupidity  of  the  fur  traders  supplied  themselves  with 
rifles  and  ammunition  of  the  most  modern  invention. 

The  fact  that  our  Government  had  been  compelled 
to  withdraw  the  regular  army  and  abandon  some  of  its 
frontier  posts  during  the  Southern  campaign  of  1861 
and  1865  seemed  to  the  Indians  an  evidence  of  weak- 
ness of  which  the  savages  were  quick  to  avail  them- 
selves, and  when  the  army  was  sent  to  reoccupy  the 
old  frontier  line  and  re-establish  and  protect  the  set- 
tlers on  it,  their  wrath  was  intense,  and  nearly  all  of 
the  wild  tribes  soon  became  allied  against  the  whites. 

In  the  year  1865  the  Union  Pacific  and  Kansas 
Pacific  Kailroads  were  being  steadily  pushed  onward 
through  the  West  toward  the  Central  Pacific  Eailroad, 
which  was  being  built  east  from  California,  all  three 
roads  having  been  subsidized  by  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, which  was  anxious  on  both  financial  and  polit- 
ical grounds  to  connect  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  States 
by  rail.  These  roads  ran  directly  through  the  hunting 
grounds  of  the  Indians,  and  almost  without  exception 
every  wild  tribe  within  our  borders  was  bitterly  opposed 


170  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

to  their  construction.  In  many  ways  the  Indian  in- 
tuitively recognises  danger,  even  when  he  is  not  ahle 
to  intellectually  grasp  the  reason  why,  and  in  this  espe- 
cial case  his  premonitions  were  more  than  warranted  hy 
the  eventual  outcome.  The  construction  of  these  rail- 
roads was  the  entering  wedge  that  finally  split  up  the 
tribal  alliances,  destroyed  the  wild  game,  and  forced 
the  several  tribes  to  abandon  the  great  plains  in  order 
to  seek  sustenance  at  the  hands  of  the  Government  on 
reservations  especially  allotted  and  set  aside  for  them. 
The  thousands  of  labourers  that  were  employed  in 
building  these  two  iron  tracks  saw  the  possibilities  that 
these  railroads  afforded  this  undeveloped  West  in  the 
way  of  transportation  to  Eastern  markets,  and  accord- 
ingly took  up  Government  or  railway  land  and  became 
settlers,  and  numerous  small  villages  sprang  into  ex- 
istence along  both  of  the  lines  of  railroad.  An  army 
of  travellers  rushed  through  to  and  from  California  as 
soon  as  the  connection  was  made  with  the  Union  Pa- 
cific to  San  Francisco,  and  the  never-ending  stream  of 
immigrants  took  advantage  of  it  to  enter  and  occupy 
the  country  immediately  .adjacent  to  the  two  lines  of 
railroad,  and  each  and  all  helped  to  swell  the  rising 
tide  of  settlers  who  sought  to  seize  upon  the  virgin 
soil,  and  in  their  own  interest,  or,  as  they  said,  "  in  the 
interest  of  civilization  and  humanity,"  to  occupy  and 
possess  it. 

In  those  days  it  was  full  of  wild  game,  and  the 
Indians  could  roam  at  will  with  a  full  commissariat 
always  within  reach.  Deer,  antelope,  bear,  and  buffalo 
were  ever  within  a  few  hours'  range,  but  with  the  ad- 
vent of  the  railroads  came  the  settler  and  the  white 
pot  hunter,  who  killed  all  game  remorselessly  and  with 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER. 

criminal  recklessness.  In  a  few  years  some  one  discov- 
ered that  buffalo  hide  made  splendid  sole,  harness,  and 
especially  belt  leather  for  machinery.  Heretofore  buf- 
falo had  only  been  killed  for  food  or  for  their  fur  and 
their  hides,  which  were  tanned  by  the  Indians  for  buf- 
falo robes,  that  were  used  as  sleigh  robes  by  our  people, 
and  twenty  thousand  annually  were  more  than  could 
be  sold,  but  now  every  idle  loafer  in  the  towns,  every 
impecunious  farmer  on  the  plains  who  had  a  gun  and 
a  wagon,  set  out  to  work  this  unexpected  bonanza  at 
their  doors.  The  buffalo  fell  by  thousands,  their  hides 
were  stripped  from  the  carcasses,  which  were  left  to  rot 
where  they  lay,  and  each  little  railway  station  soon  had 
its  buyer  of  hides  for  the  Eastern  and  foreign  tanneries. 
Two  men  could  easily  load  a  wagon  with  forty  or  fifty 
hides  in  three  or  four  days'  work.  They  sold  these  for 
from  $1.75  to  $2.25  each,  and  the  slaughter  continued 
until  the  buffalo  were  swept  forever  from  the  plains. 
One  railway  station  in  southern  Kansas  shipped  nearly 
two  hundred  thousand  hides  to  the  Eastern  markets  in 
less  than  eighteen  consecutive  months.  Within  six 
years  from  the  time  it  became  generally  known  that 
buffalo  hide  would  make  good  leather  the  vast  herds 
of  buffalo  that  for  years  had  blackened  the  Northern 
plains  in  summer  and  the  Southern  savannas  in  winter 
had  ceased  to  exist.  Five  years  later  their  bones  were 
gathered  and  shipped  East  by  the  thousands  of  tons 
to  be  ground  into  phosphates. 

The  destruction  of  the  buffalo  was  the  outcome 
of  cheap  transportation  by  rail  to  the  East,  and  their 
extinction  deprived  the  Indians  of  their  principal 
source  of  supplies  and  rendered  an  extended  cam- 
paign by  large  bands  of  the  savages  almost  an  im- 


172  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

possibility,  but  between  the  years  1865  and  1879, 
when  this  was  finally  accomplished,  our  Northwest- 
ern border  was  the  scene  of  many  a  hard-fought 
field  and  witnessed  the  death  of  scores  of  hardy 
frontiersmen  and  hundreds  of  brave  and  gallant  sol- 
diers. In  the  year  1865  nearly  all  of  that  portion  of  the 
Northwest  beyond  the  States  of  Kansas  on  the  south 
and  Minnesota  on  the  north,  as  far  west  as  to,  and  in- 
cluding, the  Eocky  Mountains  up  to  the  Pacific  slope, 
was  occupied  by  roving  bands  of  various  Indians,  known 
as  Sioux,  Northern  and  Southern  Cheyennes,  Crows, 
Chippewas,  Poncas,  Assiniboines,  Flatheads,  Piegans, 
Gros  Ventres,  Bannocks,  Snakes  or  Shoshones,  Utes, 
Arapahoes,  Pawnees,  Winnebagoes,  Pottawatomies, 
Omahas,  Kickapoos,  Miamis,  Poncas,  Otoes,  Kiowas, 
and  Comanches. 

Of  these  tribes,  the  Sioux,  Northern  Cheyennes, 
Southern  Cheyennes,  Piegans,  Assiniboines,  Arapa- 
hoes, Kiowas,  and  Comanches  were  the  most  nu- 
merous, least  civilized,  and  by  all  odds  the  wildest 
and  most  fierce  and  warlike  of  all  the  Indians  of  the 
great  plains,  and,  notwithstanding  that  for  years  past 
they  had  been  on  bad  terms  and  almost  constantly  at 
war  with  the  Crows,  Bannocks,  Snakes  or  Shoshones, 
and  other  small  tribes,  in  every  council  looking  to 
an  alliance  by  and  between  all  the  plains  tribes 
against  the  whites  these  Sioux  and  Cheyennes,  by 
force  of  numbers,  able  leaders,  and  set  purpose,  com- 
pletely dominated  and  controlled  all  the  other  tribes, 
overbore  their  arguments  and  objections  to  a  general 
war  against  the  advancing  line  of  settlers  on  the  fron- 
tier, and  finally  in  the  spring  these  tribes  became  allied 
under  the  leadership  of  a  Sioux  chief,  Red  Cloud,  a 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.   173 

very  able  and  astute  Indian  leader,*  and  positively  re- 
fused to  agree  to,  or  sign  a  treaty  urged  upon  them  at 
a  council  held  at  Fort  Laramie  between  United  States 
commissioners  and  certain  representative  chiefs,  which 
gave  the  United  States  Government  the  right  of  way 
for  a  railroad  through  what  they  claimed  as  their  coun- 
try, and  accordingly  they  withdrew  in  anger  from  the 
council. 

Some  of  the  minor  Indian  chiefs  afterward  signed 
this  treaty,  but  they  were  not  powerful  enough  to 
control  even  their  own  tribes,  and  as  soon  as  the  In- 
dians saw  that  the  Government  intended  to  protect 
the  builders  of  a  railroad  within  the  limits  of  the  dis- 
puted territory  all,  or  nearly  all  the  wild  Indians  in  the 
Northwest  began  a  series  of  raids  upon  the  people  of 
the  exposed  frontier,  with  the  avowed  determination 
of  driving  them  back  and  compelling  the  Government 
to  abandon  all  the  country  between  the  one  hundred 
and  fourth  meridian  and  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  and 
the  North  Platte  and  Yellowstone  Eivers,  and  to  give 
them  in  perpetuity  this  immense  stretch  of  country  of 
between  two  and  three  hundred  thousand  square  miles, 

*  Red  Cloud  was  not  an  hereditary  chief  of  the  Sioux.  He 
rose  from  the  ranks  by  his  great  personal  bravery  in  the  field  and 
his  sheer  ability  in  council  as  a  political  leader.  The  writer 
regards  him  as  a  far  more  able  and  astute  politician  than  Sitting 
Bull,  who,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  was  nothing  else  but  an  Indian 
politician,  and  not  at  all  a  prominent  warrior.  In  truth,  on  more 
than  one  occasion  Sitting  Bull  was  accused  by  leading  Sioux 
warriors  of  being  a  personal  laggard  when  the  fighting  was  des- 
perate, while  Red  Cloud,  as  a  warrior,  was  regarded  as  a  close 
second  to  Roman  Nose,  the  ablest  Cheyenne  warrior  of  modern 
times.  Red  Cloud  was  still  living  two  years  ago,  but  was  said  to 
be  much  broken  by  age  in  both  mind  and  body. 


174  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

for  a  hunting  ground  for  themselves  and  their  heirs 
forever;  thus  damming  up  the  advancing  waves  of  An- 
glo-Saxon civilization  and  allowing  seventy  thousand 
wild  Indians  to  control  and  occupy  a  region  which  held 
within  its  borders  ample  room  for  the  happy  homes  of 
millions  of  the  landless  citizens  of  our  republic. 

That  these  Indians  had  a  good  natural  claim,  and 
even  beyond  that  a  quasi-legal  one  to  a  portion  of  this 
territory  was  indisputable.  They  were  the  aboriginal 
occupants,  and  two  years  later,  after  a  series  of  bloody 
encounters  between  these  tribes  and  the  United  States 
troops,  Congress  weakly  and  inconsiderately  allowed  it- 
self, under  pressure  from  many  good  and  philanthropic 
citizens,  who  could  not  and  did  not  appreciate  the  true 
situation,  to  hastily  confirm  a  treaty  weakly  entered 
into  by  certain  duly  and  legally  appointed  United  States 
commissioners  and  the  leading  chiefs  of  the  allied  Indi- 
an tribes,  conveying  to  the  Indians  nearly  all  of  this 
territory — part  to  be  used  in  the  establishment  of  In- 
dian agencies  and  model  farms  and  schools  in  the  in- 
terests of  the  civilization  of  the  said  Indians,  and  part 
to  be  kept  as  an  exclusive  hunting  ground  for  the  wild 
tribes,  within  which  limits  no  white  man  was  to  be  per- 
mitted to  enter  save  by  special  permission  of  the  Indi- 
ans themselves. 

Had  this  treaty  received  due  consideration  it  would 
never  have  been  confirmed,  for  Congress  would  have 
foreseen  that  it  was  not  possible  to  enforce  its  pro- 
visions, as  the  country  ceded  was  infinitely  too  large 
to  be  held  against  settlement  by  our  own  people. 

Another  terrible  blunder  in  ceding  this  country 
by  treaty  was  made  in  abandoning  and  dismantling 
the  military  posts  of  Fort  Eeno,  Fort  Phil  Kearny, 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.   175 

and  Fort  C.  F.  Smith  on  the  east  side  of  the  Big 
Horn  Mountains,  for  it  confirmed  the  Sioux  in  their 
idea  that  they  were  stronger  than  the  Government, 
and  that  the  soldiers  feared  them;  consequently  they 
grew  arrogant,  defied  the  Government,  and  opened 
war  on  our  frontiersmen.  It  was  a  colossal  blunder  on 
the  part  of  Congress,  and  dearly  we  had  to  pay  for  it. 

Two  years  prior  to  the  confirmation  of  this  treaty 
our  troops  had  been  sent  to  occupy  the  Big  Horn  coun- 
try in  direct  defiance  of  the  threats  of  the  Sioux  and 
the  Northern  and  Southern  Cheyennes,  and  Fort  Phil 
Kearny,  a  stockaded  quadrangle  of  log  huts,  was  estab- 
lished by  the  second  battalion  of  the  Eighteenth  In- 
fantry under  command  of  Colonel  Carrington.  Up  to 
the  advent  of  these  troops  no  permanent  occupation 
of  this  portion  of  our  Western  territory  had  been  at- 
tempted by  the  Government,  but  the  continued  and 
repeated  raids  of  the  Sioux  and  Cheyennes  upon  the 
outlying  settlements,  their  attacks  upon  overland  emi- 
grant trains  along  the  Bozeman  road  in  Montana  and 
on  the  railway  surveying  parties  as  well  as  their  fre- 
quent ambuscades  and  murder  of  mining  prospectors 
had  so  incensed  the  inhabitants  of  the  Northern  border 
that  the  military  authorities  were  compelled  to  act  de- 
cisively, and  they  wisely  decided  to  occupy  the  Sioux 
country  by  a  series  of  army  posts  that  would  eventually 
so  hem  in  the  savages  that  it  would  be  too  dangerous 
for  their  raiding  parties  to  venture  east  of  them  on  the 
war  path. 

These  posts  were  built  by  the  labour  of  the  troops 
themselves,  and  a  hard  and  dangerous  experience 
they  found  it  to  be.  Marching  into  this  compara- 
tively unknown  and  almost  unoccupied  country  Colo- 


176  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

nel  Carrington  was  informed  by  the  Sioux  on  July 
14,  1866,  that  he  must  abandon  any  idea  of  its  per- 
manent occupation,  and  leave  it  immediately.  The 
next  day,  July  15th,  he  located  the  new  post,  after- 
ward named  Fort  Phil  Kearny,  on  the  banks  of  Big 
Piney  Creek.  It  stood  on  a  little  plateau  about  sixty 
feet  above  the  surrounding  bottom  lands,  and  was  six- 
teen hundred  feet  in  length,  but  only  eight  hundred 
feet  square  of  it  was  stockaded.  It  was  situated  not 
far  from  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  and  almost  within 
the  shadow  of  Cloud  Peak,  whose  white-capped  cone 
glittered  in  the  summer  sun  thousands  of  feet  above  it. 
Strategically  it  sat  at  the  gateway  of  the  beautiful  val- 
ley of  Tongue  River,  and  was  a  perpetual  menace  to 
the  war  parties  of  the  Sioux  should  they  attempt  a  far- 
away raid  on  the  eastern  settlements,  for  when  first 
established  it  was  quite  three  hundred  miles  from  the 
nearest  mining  camp  and  nearly  five  hundred  from 
Julesburg,  the  then  rushing  and  riotous  town  that 
marked  the  temporary  terminus  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad.  After  staking  out  the  limits  of  the  post, 
Colonel  Carrington  pitched  the  tents  of  his  command, 
numbering  about  six  hundred  men,  and  without  more 
ado  proceeded  to  organize  fatigue  parties  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  fort.  Large  details  were  made  to  cut 
and  bring  in  timber  from  a  pinery  located  in  the  hills 
nearly  seven  miles  distant.  Sawmills  were  set  up  and 
at  work  as  soon  as  the  first  logs  were  available.  Other 
details  squared  the  timber  for  the  stockade  and  set  it 
up;  others  were  employed  building  the  barracks,  the 
officers'  huts,  the  storehouses,  stables,  and  corral;  while 
still  others  were  set  at  work  cutting  and  putting  up 
hay  for  the  quartermaster's  mules  and  the  horses  of  the 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER. 

cavalry  that  it  was  vainly  hoped  would  arrive  during 
the  coming  winter.  To  accomplish  what  they  had  be- 
fore them  was  no  easy  task  and  meant  incessant  labour 
for  every  officer  and  man  from  daylight  until  dark. 

At  such  times  laggards  are  not  tolerated,  and  every 
member  of  the  garrison  must  bend  all  his  energies  to 
the  end  in  view,  but  in  this  case  it  meant  infinitely 
more  than  protection  from  the  icy  blasts  of  a  rigorous 
winter,  for  it  would  be  the  salvation  of  the  command, 
which  at  the  time  numbered  less  than  six  hundred 
men,  and  which  both  officers  and  men  well  knew  would 
not  be  able  to  withstand  the  assault  of  the  Sioux  and 
Cheyennes  in  the  open  once  the  united  tribes  should  be 
rallied  to  their  extermination.  Occupying  the  Sioux 
country  by  detached  posts  was  a  bold  move,  and  in 
some  respects  a  dangerous  one,  but  it  was  the  true  solu- 
tion of  the  difficulty,  had  the  army  been  left  alone  to 
carry  it  out  as  was  originally  intended. 

To  build  this  post,  however,  was  no  ordinary  task. 
The  Sioux  were  fairly  wild  over  the  occupation  of  their 
especial  country,  and  the  attempt  to  establish  what  they 
at  once  saw  was  to  be  a  permanent  post  almost  in  the 
middle  of  it  filled  them  with  ungovernable  rage,  and 
they  determined  at  all  hazards  to  drive  out  this  com- 
mand. From  the  very  first  fatigue  party  that  escorted 
the  wood  train  to  the  pineries  in  the  outlying  hills, 
seven  miles  distant,  early  in  July,  to  bring  in  timber, 
to  the  final  one,  that  brought  out  the  last  load  of  logs 
in  the  following  year,  the  troops  that  guarded  the 
trains  had  to  be  ready  to  fight  their  way  both  in  and 
out  of  the  post,  for,  as  I  have  before  said,  the  Sioux 
in  a  council  held  at  Fort  Laramie  in  the  spring  of  this 
same  year  (1866)  had  absolutely  refused  the  right  of 


178  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

way  through  their  country  and  went  back  to  their  vil- 
lages angry  and  determined  on  war  in  case  it  was  at- 
tempted. 

These  troops  had  marched  from  old  Fort  Kearny 
to  Fort  Reno,  at  the  crossing  of  Powder  River,  a 
distance  of  more  than  six  hundred  miles  through 
Sioux  country,  without  seeing  a  hostile  Indian,  but 
every  step  of  their  way  had  been  watched  by  Sioux 
spies  and  scouts,  every  man  in  the  battalion  counted, 
every  wagon  and  mule  numbered,  and  each  night's 
camp  carefully  located  and  examined  a  few  hours  after 
their  departure  on  each  succeeding  day.  The  whole 
Sioux  nation  as  well  as  the  Northern  and  Southern 
Cheyennes  already  knew  of  their  advance,  and  now 
that  there  was  no  longer  any  possible  doubt  of  the  de- 
termination of  the  Government  to  occupy  their  coun- 
try and  protect  the  railroads  and  settlers  they  began 
open  hostilities  and  attacked  and  annoyed  the  com- 
mand unceasingly,  and  lay  in  ambush  at  every  avail- 
able place  along  the  wagon  road  to  and  from  the  piner- 
ies, and  it  was  safe  to  say  that  at  some  point  going  or 
coming  from  the  post  the  strong  escort  sent  out  to  pro- 
tect the  wagons  would  have  its  work  cut  out  for  it,  to 
successfully  drive  off  the  savages  who  swarmed  out  of 
coulees  or  dashed  up  through  the  woods  to  effect  their 
capture. 

In  the  pineries  small  blockhouses  were  built  for 
defence,  and  soldiers  chopped  down  the  trees  with 
their  rifles  always  within  reaching  distance,  while  an 
ample  guard  posted  well  out  among  the  trees  kept 
watch  and  ward  over  them  against  the  assaults  of  the 
Indians;  but  despite  all  precautions  every  now  and 
then  both  at  the  pineries  and  along  the  road  our 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.  179 

men  were  picked  off  by  the  bullets  of  the  Sioux,  and 
added  one  more  mound  to  the  thickening  ranks  of  fresh- 
ly rounded  graves  that  were  fast  filling  the  little  post 
graveyard  at  the  foot  of  Pilot  Hill.  Not  that  our 
troops  failed  to  give  the  Indians  as  good  as  they  sent, 
for  many  a  Sioux  warrior  found  his  way  to  the  happy 
hunting  ground  in  these  attacks,  and  the  desperate 
red  men  grew  more  and  more  wary  of  attacking  both 
the  trains  and  the  men  at  the  pinery  as  the  long  sum- 
mer days  wore  slowly  into  fall,  and  the  fall  days  stead- 
ily shortened  in  the  face  of  winter,  as  the  tall  trees  in 
the  pinery  fell  thickly  beneath  the  sturdy  strokes  of  the 
armed  soldier  choppers,  and  the  loaded  trains  passed 
safely,  if  slowly,  through  the  woods  and  over  the  hills 
to  and  from  the  post  under  convoy  of  their  plucky 
guard,  and  all  the  troops  in  garrison  toiled  early  and 
late  on  the  barracks  save  when  repelling  an  Indian 
attack  or  when  sent  suddenly  out  to  succour  some  quar- 
termaster's supply  train  from  Fort  Laramie,  which  the 
guard  had  been  obliged  to  corral  for  defence,  and  then 
send  in  to  the  fort  for  additional  help  to  get  through. 

It  was  absolutely  necessary  that  they  should  com- 
plete their  barracks  and  stockade  the  post  before  the 
winter's  snow  .should  descend  upon  them,  and  every  offi- 
cer and  man  knew  it,  and  they  worked  and  fought  alter- 
nately without  complaint  and  an  energy  born  of  desper- 
ation. In  vain  did  the  commanding  officer  ask  for  addi- 
tional troops,  stating  the  bare  truth,  when  he  said  that 
his  little  force  of  six  hundred  men  was  doing  the  work 
of  a  brigade,  for  every  soldier  in  this  department  had  all 
that  he  could  do  elsewhere,  and  re-enforcements  could 
not  then  be  had. 

On  the  31st  of  October  the  troops  were  fairly  under 


180  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

cover,  and  although  the  post  was  far  from  comple- 
tion the  last  log  was  placed  in  the  stockade,  a  flagstaff 
erected,  a  garrison  flag  flung  to  the  breeze,  and  a  na- 
tional salute  told  the  hordes  of  exasperated  Sioux  that 
looked  down  on  the  post  from  the  side  of  Cloud  Peak 
that  Fort  Phil  Kearny  was  an  established  fact  and  had 
been  erected  in  defiance  of  their  threats  and  despite 
their  repeated  attacks. 

Now  began  one  of  the  most  remarkable  experiences 
had  by  any  of  our  troops  in  an  Indian  country  since  the 
foundation  of  our  Government;  for  almost  from  the  day 
of  its  completion  until  it  was  finally  evacuated  two 
years  later  in  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  the  illy 
considered  and  blundering  treaty  made  between  the 
Sioux  and  our  Government  this  post  was  constantly  in- 
vested if  not  in  a  state  of  actual  siege  by  the  enemy. 
Time  and  again  the  Indians  swarmed  up  and  around  it, 
only  to  be  driven  back  once  more,  and  nearly  every  sup- 
ply train  that  reached  it  from  the  East  had  to  fight  its 
way  through.  Twice  the  Indians  succeeded  in  captur- 
ing the  post  herd,  which  was  grazing  under  guard  al- 
most within  rifle  shot  of  the  stockade,  and  once  they 
succeeded  in  stampeding  and  running  off  every  horse 
in  the  troop  of  one  of  the  best  cavalry  captains  in  the 
army,  who  was  guarding  a  supply  train  on  its  return 
from  this  post  and  had  incautiously  allowed  his  men  to 
unsaddle  and  graze  their  tired  horses  within  a  few  yards 
of  the  road,  the  result  being  that  greatly  to  their  cha- 
grin the  escort  made  the  rest  of  the  journey  as  infantry. 

On  the  6th  of  December  the  wood  train  was  attacked 
two  miles  from  the  post  and  went  into  corral  for  de- 
fence. Brevet-Lieutenant-Colonel  W.  J.  Fetterman,  a 
particularly  active  and  dashing  officer  with  a  fine  war 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN   FRONTIER.  181 

record,  was  ordered  to  its  relief  with  a  detachment  of 
cavalry  and  mounted  infantry,  numbering  about  forty 
men,  with  orders  to  relieve  the  wood  party  and,  if  pos- 
sible, drive  the  Indians  across  Lodge  Trail  Ridge,  while 
Colonel  Carrington,  with  twenty-five  mounted  infantry, 
crossed  Big  Piney  Creek,  hoping  to  outflank  this  war 
party  near  Peno  Creek.  Fetterman  relieved  the  wood 
train  and  drove  the  Indians  four  miles,  when,  evidently 
having  been  re-enforced,  they  turned  and  attacked  his 
command.  It  is  said  that  the  cavalry  suddenly  gave 
way,  leaving  Fetterman  with  Captain  Brown  and  Lieu- 
tenant Wands  with  only  fourteen  men  to  face  a  war 
party  of  Sioux  of  five  times  their  strength.  They  stood 
the  Indians  off,  however,  until  the  arrival  of  Colonel 
Carrington's  force,  when  the  Sioux  retreated,  but  in 
this  affair  Lieutenant  Bingham  and  Sergeant  Bowers 
were  both  killed. 

It  has  since  been  ascertained  from  the  Indians 
themselves  that  Red  Cloud,  the  supreme  chief  of  the 
Sioux,  was  now  commanding  in  person  the  allied  Sioux, 
Cheyennes,  and  other  tribes,  who  it  seems  were  lying 
in  the  mountains  within  striking  distance  of  the  fort, 
and  was  present  at  this  encounter,  although  not  in 
immediate  command  of  the  attacking  war  party. 

A  little  more  than  two  weeks  after  this  episode — 
that  is,  on  the  21st  of  December — it  became  necessary 
to  send  out  to  the  pinery  for  more  lumber,  as  there  was 
much  unfinished  work  on  the  post  buildings,  so  the 
train,  numbering  ninety  men,  with  its  escort  and  drivers, 
who  were  all  armed,  started  on  its  seven-mile  journey. 
About  eleven  o'clock  the  lookout  on  Sullivant's  Hill  sig- 
nalled, "Many  Indians  on  wood  road,  train  corralled 
and  fighting." 
13 


182  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

In  a  few  moments  eighty  men  were  detailed  to  go 
to  the  rescue.  Colonel  Fetterman  asked  for  the  com- 
mand, and  as  he  was  the  senior  officer  present,  notwith- 
standing it  was  not  his  turn  for  detail,  it  was,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  courtesy,  given  him.  He  was  accompanied  by 
Captain  F.  H.  Brown,  the  regimental  quartermaster, 
who  was  an  enthusiastic  Indian  fighter,  and  who 
promptly  volunteered  to  accompany  the  rescuing  party. 
Lieutenant  Grummond  was  another  volunteer,  and 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  cavalry  portion  of  the  de- 
tail, which  was  hurriedly  made  up  from  the  different 
companies  on  duty  at  the  post.  Two  frontiersmen, 
Fisher  and  Wheatly,  who  happened  to  be  in  the  post, 
and  who  were  armed  with  the  then  newly  invented 
Henry  repeating  rifle,  also  volunteered  their  services, 
which  Colonel  Fetterman  accepted.  About  fifty  of  the 
soldiers  were  armed  with  Spencer  repeating  carbines, 
the  rest  with  Springfield  muzzle-loading  rifles. 

Great  expedition  had  been  used  in  making  up  the 
detail,  but  while  it  was  forming  quite  a  number  of  Indi- 
ans could  be  seen  careering  on  horseback  over  the  near- 
est hills,  while  a  small  body  of  twenty  or  more  were  seen 
at  the  crossing  of  Big  Piney  Creek  on  the  Montana  road. 
A  few  well-directed  shells  sent  closely  in  among  them 
scattered  them  with  a  wild  rush  in  all  directions,  and 
they  quickly  disappeared. 

Leaving  the  post,  Colonel  Fetterman  marched  his 
command  rapidly  upon  the  Montana  road,  crossed 
Big  Piney  Creek,  and  moved  a  little  to  the  southwest 
of  Lodge  Trail  Eidge,  evidently  with  intention  of  cut- 
ting off  the  Indians,  who  had  corralled  and  were  hold- 
ing the  train  just  south  of  Sullivant's  Hill,  which  is 
south  of  and  parallel  to  Lodge  Trail  Eidge,  but  on  the 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.  183 

other  side  of  the  Big  Piney.  As  Fetterman's  com- 
mand reached  the  foothills  leading  to  the  crest  Indians 
appeared  on  his  front  and  flank;  so  forming  his  men 
as  skirmishers  he  moved  steadily  up  the  hill  to  the 
ridge,  the  Indians  keeping  out  of  range  and  slowly  retir- 
ing before  him.  He  reached  the  crest  a  little  before 
twelve  o'clock  and  occupied  it  with  his  skirmish  line. 

About  this  time  the  picket  on  Sullivant's  Hill  sig- 
nalled that  the  Indians  had  left  the  wood  train  and 
it  had  broken  corral  and  was  moving  toward  the 
pinery.  After  a  short  halt  on  the  crest  of  Lodge 
Trail  Ridge  Colonel  Fetterman  and  his  command  in 
line  of  skirmishers  were  seen  to  advance,  cross  the  apex 
of  the  ridge,  and  disappear  down  its  farther  side.  In 
a  few  moments  dropping  shots  were  heard,  and  then  a 
scattering  fire,  which  soon  after  grew  more  and  more 
rapid,  until  it  suddenly  developed  into  a  steady  roar  of 
musketry,  telling  to  the  anxious  listeners  at  the  fort 
the  tale  of  desperate  and  savage  fighting  over  beyond 
the  ridge,  presumably  somewhere  in  Peno  Creek  Valley. 
Assistant-Surgeon  Hines  with  one  man  galloped  full 
speed  to  the  wood  train,  with  instructions,  if  it  were 
possible,  to  join  Colonel  Fetterman,  for  most  assuredly 
his  services  as  surgeon  must  be  badly  needed.  He  found 
the  train  undisturbed,  and  then  started  across  the  coun- 
try to  Peno  Creek,  hoping  to  reach  Colonel  Fetter- 
man's  command  that  way,  but  found  Lodge  Trail  Eidge 
occupied  by  the  Indians.  He  dashed  back  to  the  fort 
and  reported  the  situation,  and  Captain  Ten  Eyck  with 
seventy-six  men,  all  the  men  who  could  be  safely  spared 
from  the  post,  were  hurriedly  mounted  on  every  cav- 
alry horse  or  quartermaster's  mule  that  could  be  found, 
and  started  back  with  him  for  Lodge  Trail  Ridge. 


184:  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

The  relief  party  left  the  road  and  galloped  across  the 
country  straight  to  the  ridge  and  ascended  it.  The 
volume  of  firing  had  gradually  become  less  and  less  in 
sound,  and  now  nothing  but  an  occasional  dropping 
shot  could  be  heard,  and  before  they  reached  the  crest 
the  firing  had  almost  entirely  died  away.  Just  as  they 
mounted  the  summit  of  the  ridge  they  heard  a  few 
scattering  shots  well  over  in  the  valley  beyond,  and 
then  no  more.  It  was  now  nearly  one  o'clock,  there 
was  an  inch  or  two  of  snow  on  the  hills,  and  they  could 
see  here  and  there  from  the  footprints  where  Colonel 
Fetterman's  command  had  advanced  down  the  ridge; 
but  while  their  anxious  eyes  searched  the  valley  in 
vain  for  a  trace  of  the  soldiers,  they  saw  it  was  filled 
with  hundreds  of  savage  warriors,  both  mounted  and 
dismounted,  who  galloped  wildly  up  and  down  or  else 
stood  in  their  tracks  and  brandished  their  weapons, 
leaping  and  shouting  in  wild  frenzy,  taunting  and  curs- 
ing them,  and  daring  them  to  come  down  and  fight 
them.  Although  he  had  altogether  nearly  eighty  good 
men  and  true,  Captain  Ten  Eyck  recognised  the  fact 
that  his  force  was  no  match  for  these  well-armed 
hordes,  but  he  held  his  ground  and  sent  back  to  the 
fort  for  a  howitzer.  In  a  few  moments,  however,  the 
Indians  seemed  to  suspect  something,  and  began  to 
withdraw.  They  probably  feared  a  flank  attack  from  the 
train  guard,  and  they  well  knew,  too,  that  this  second 
force  from  the  fort  would  not  make  the  terrible  mistake 
of  Colonel  Fetterman's  command  in  not  carrying  plenty 
of  ammunition. 

In  line  of  battle  and  moving  cautiously,  fearing 
an  ambuscade,  the  relief  party  slowly  descended  into 
the  valley  to  Peno  Creek,  and,  crossing  it,  advanced 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.  185 

to  a  little  ridge  about  half  a  mile  distant  from  Lodge 
Trail  Ridge,  and  at  a  point  around  which  they  had 
seen  large  numbers  of  the  Indians  massed.  Just  as  they 
reached  the  top  of  Lodge  Trail  Ridge  they  came  upon 
a  sickening  sight.  Here,  within  a  space  of  less  than  fifty 
feet  square,  lay  the  bodies  of  Colonel  Fetterman,  Cap- 
tain Brown,  and  sixty-five  enlisted  men.  Each  body 
was  stripped  naked,  hacked,  and  scalped,  the  skulls 
beaten  in  with  war  clubs,  and  the  bodies  gashed  with 
knives  almost  beyond  recognition,  with  other  ghastly 
mutilations  that  the  civilized  pen  hesitates  to  record. 
There  was  no  indication  of  a  great  struggle  just  at 
this  especial  point;  nothing  gave  evidence  of  a  pro- 
tracted defence.  Four  or  five  empty  cartridge  shells  lay 
on  the  ground,  but  there  were  no  great  number  of 
empty  shells  to  show  that  here  they  had  made  a  deter- 
mined stand;  on  the  contrary,  everything  went  to  em- 
phasize the  fact  that  just  at  this  spot  the  savages, 
apparently  for  the  first  time,  realized  that  nearly  every 
man  in  the  whole  command  was  entirely  out  of  ammu- 
nition and  practically  defenceless,  and  so,  instantly  sur- 
rounding them,  the  now  frenzied  warriors,  both  horse 
and  foot,  suddenly  hurled  themselves  in  a  dense  mass 
upon  the  retreating  troops,  riding  them  down,  shoot- 
ing, spearing,  and  clubbing  them  to  death. 

The  short  December  day  was  now  beginning  to 
wane,  and  although  Lieutenant  Grummond  and  a  num- 
ber of  the  enlisted  men  of  Colonel  Fetterman's  force 
were  still  unaccounted  for,  Captain  Ten  Eyck  thought 
it  unadvisable  to  make  a  farther  advance  at  that  time. 
An  orderly  was  despatched  to  the  fort,  two  wagons  were 
at  once  sent  back  with  him,  and  shortly  after  dark  Cap- 
tain Ten  Eyck  with  his  command  came  slowly  into  the 


186  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

post,  escorting  the  bodies  of  forty-nine  dead  men  (all 
that  could  be  placed  upon  the  wagons)  who  had  left 
the  fort  blithe  and  strong  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing of  that  dreary  December  day. 

The  next  morning  the  bodies  of  Lieutenant  Grum- 
mond  and  ten  or  twelve  of  the  missing  enlisted  men 
were  found  at  a  point  near  the  Montana  road,  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  advance  of  where  the  main  por- 
tion of  the  command  had  been  found  the  previous  day, 
but  here  there  were  evidences  of  a  most  desperate  fight. 
In  every  direction  dead  ponies  and  great  gouts  of  blood 
in  the  snow  told  where  the  Sioux  had  paid  dearly  for 
their  victory,  and  the  ground  around  where  the  men  lay 
was  strewed  with  empty  cartridge  shells.  Fisher  and 
Wheatly,  the  two  frontiersmen,  had  ensconced  them- 
selves in  a  little  pile  of  rocks  close  by  where  the  soldiers 
lay,  and  sixty  separate  gouts  of  blood  and  ten  dead  In- 
dian ponies  a  few  hundred  feet  from  their  position,  as 
well  as  more  than  fifty  empty  cartridge  shells  that  lay 
close  to  their  dead  bodies,  told  that  they  had  made  their 
lives  a  costly  bargain  to  their  foes. 

In  this  action,  which  it  is  a  misnomer  to  desig- 
nate as  a  massacre,  for  the  Indians  do  not  take  prison- 
ers, or,  if  they  do,  it  is  only  to  kill  them  by  torture, 
our  loss  was  three  officers,  seventy-nine  enlisted  men, 
and  two  citizens.  A  careful  inquiry  developed  the 
fact  that  when  this  command  hurriedly  left  the  fort  it 
had  considerably  less  than  an  average  of  fifty  rounds 
of  cartridges  to  the  man.  Five  years  after  this  action 
it  was  ascertained  that  the  Indians  engaged  in  this 
affair  numbered  over  two  thousand  warriors,  being 
made  up  of  the  following  bands  of  Sioux,  Minnecon- 
jous,  Upper  Brule,  Ogallalla,  Sans  Arcs,  and  Blackfeet, 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.  187 

as  well  as  the  Northern  Cheyennes  and  the  Arapahoes. 
It  was  undoubtedly  their  intention  to  lure  the  whole 
command  outside  of  the  stockade  and  get  between  them 
and  the  fort  and  attack  and,  if  possible,  capture  or 
burn  it. 

However,  the  next  summer,  another  day  came  to 
Fort  Phil  Kearny,  and  it  came  about  in  this  wise: 
Captain  James  Powell,  brevet  major  in  the  army,  "  had 
been  ordered  to  take  station  at  Piney  Island,  five  miles 
from  the  post  of  Fort  Phil  Kearny,  to  protect  the 
wood  contractor  in  cutting  and  hauling  fuel  to  the 
post."  His  command  consisted  of  one  company  of  the 
Twenty-seventh  Infantry,  numbering  fifty-one  enlisted 
men,  together  with  his  lieutenant  and  himself. 

Now,  if  on  some  rainy  day  when  you  are  prowling 
discontentedly  about  your  club  and  have  nothing  better 
to  do,  you  will  look  up  the  Army  Kegister  for  1900  and 
turn  to  page  274,  under  the  list  of  Ke tired  from  Active 
Service  (unlimited  list),  you  will  find  recorded  under 
the  grade  of  captain,  near  the  bottom  of  the  page,  the 
following  name:  "  Powell,  James,  September  9,  1864; 
brevet  lieutenant  colonel,  August  2,  1867;  wounds  in 
line  of  duty  (action),  August  3,  1861."  And  then  oppo- 
site this  name,  under  the  heading  Service  in  the 
Army,  "in  permanent  establishment,"  you  may 
read  as  follows:  "  Private,  Company  H,  Second  In- 
fantry, February  11,  1848;  discharged,  August  15, 
1848;  private,  Company  I,  Second  Dragoons,  March 
26,  1851;  discharged,  March  26,  1856;  private,  cor- 
poral, sergeant,  and  first  sergeant,  Company  I,  First 
Cavalry,  November  17  to  August  6,  1861;  second  lieu- 
tenant, Eighteenth  Infantry,  May  14,  1861;  accepted, 
August  6,  1861;  first  lieutenant,  October  24,  1861;  cap- 


188  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

tain,  September  9,  1864;  transferred  to  Twenty-seventh 
Infantry,  September  21,  1866;  retired,  January  8, 
1868."  You  will  also  see  noted  in  the  next  two  columns, 
"  Born  in  Maryland,"  "  Appointed  from  the  army,"  and 
if  you  cared  to  go  and  see  personally  or  to  write  to  the 
adjutant  general  of  the  army  for  further  information 
regarding  this  old  retired  officer,  he  would  inform  you 
that  he  had  been  brevetted  captain  in  1863  for  gallant 
and  meritorious  services  during  the  Atlanta  campaign 
where  he  was  badly  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Jonesboro, 
Ga.,  and  brevetted  major,  September  1, 1864,  for  gallant 
services  at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  these  two  brevets 
in  addition  to  his  brevet  of  lieutenant  colonel  for  gal- 
lant conduct  in  a  fight  with  Indians  at  Fort  Phil  Kear- 
ny,  August  2,  1867.  It  is  the  story  of  the  way  in 
which  this  soldier,  promoted  from  the  ranks,  won  his 
last  brevet,  which  I  heard  years  ago  from  the  lips  of 
one  of  the  men  who  took  part  in  it,  together  with  what 
I  have  since  been  able  to  glean  from  official  reports  and 
the  narratives  of  well-known  writers  upon  stirring 
events  in  border  life  on  the  Northwestern  frontier  that 
I  now  essay  to  tell. 

.  In  his  official  report  of  the  action  Major  Powell 
says:  "I  found  the  train  divided;  one  part  encamped 
on  a  plateau,  and,  with  one  exception,  the  position  was 
well  selected  for  defence,  and  the  best  security  that  the 
country  afforded  for  stock;.  .  .  .  the  other  part  was  en- 
camped about  one  mile  distant,"  etc.  Twelve  men  were 
detailed  to  protect  the  working  parties  of  both  trains 
and  thirteen  men  to  act  as  escort  to  the  trains  in  and 
out  of  the  post.  It  was  a  difficult  problem  to  guard 
these  two  trains  and  protect  both  camps  with  the  small 
force  at  his  disposal,  so  the  major  wisely  determined 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.  189 

in  case  of  attack  to  defend  the  plateau  only,  and  made 
his  dispositions  accordingly.  He  had  rifles  not  only  for 
the  equipment  of  his  own  company,  but  enough  addi- 
tional to  arm  and  equip  every  one  of  the  contractor's 
workmen  (civilian  employees)  and  any  quantity  of  fixed 
ammunition,  the  awful  blunder  of  the  past  year  having 
made  it  certain  that  no  armed  force  would  ever  again 
leave  Fort  Phil  Kearny  lacking  anything  in  that  re- 
spect, and  then,  again,  as  the  Sioux  soon  learned  by 
bitter  experience,  it  was  one  thing  to  attack  a  force  par- 
tially armed  with  muzzle  loaders  and  insufficient  ammu- 
nition and  quite  another  thing  to  fall  foul  of  the  new 
Allen  alteration  of  the  old  Springfield  rifle,  one  of  the 
safest  and  best  single  breech-loading  guns  (if  not  the 
very  best)  ever  issued  any  troops,  especially  when  the 
troops  using  them  had  fixed  ammunition  in  reserve  by 
the  thousand  cartridges,  lying  in  open  boxes  within 
easy  reaching  distance  of  every  man  engaged  in  action. 
For  the  better  protection  of  the  men  comprising  the 
guard  to  their  trains  in  the  Indian  country  the  quar- 
termaster's department  of  the  army  had  lined  some  of 
their  wagon  bodies  with  boiler  iron,  and  loopholed 
them  as  well  (thereby  rendering  them  bullet  proof 
against  rifle  shots).*  This  forethought  now  came  into 
splendid  play,  for,  as  the  boxes  were  not  needed  for 
the  work  in  hand,  Major  Powell  utilized  them  by  tak- 
ing them  off  of  the  running  gear,  placing  them  on  the 

*  Wagon  bodies  of  boiler  iron  sufficiently  thick  to  withstand  a 
rifle  bullet  had  been  furnished  by  the  quartermaster's  department 
to  some  of  the  most  exposed  frontier  posts.  I  can  not  assert  pos- 
itively that  the  sixteen  wagon  bodies  forming  Major  Powell's 
defensive  work  were  of  iron,  but  the  disposition  made  of  them 
by  him  and  the  statement  that  they  were  "loopholed  "  are  suffi- 


190  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

ground,  and  building  a  corral  out  of  sixteen  of  them  by 
arranging  the  wagon  bodies,  as  near  as  he  could  do  so, 
in  a  circle  and  filling  up  the  interstices  between  them 
with  logs  or  anything  else  available  that  could  stop 
a  bullet.  On  the  side  especially  exposed  to  attack  by 
mounted  men  he  put  two  such  wagon  beds  on  wheels, 
just  outside  those  upon  the  ground,  thus  enabling  those 
within  the  corral  to  fire  under  them  at  a  mounted  foe 
and  preventing  them  from  riding  close  up  and  getting 
a  plunging  fire  on  the  occupants  of  the  wagon  bodies 
that  were  placed  on  the  ground.  All  the  extra  rifles 
were  laid  handy  within  this  little  extemporized  for- 
tification, and  the  extra  boxes  of  ammunition  laid 
within  easy  reach. 

An  unceasing  watch  was  kept  up  by  his  small  re- 
serve at  this  corral,  and  full  and  explicit  instructions 
were  given  every  enlisted  man  and  every  one  of  the 
contractor's  employees  in  case  of  attack  to  fall  back  at 
once  and  concentrate  at  this  point  without  further  or- 
ders. "At  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  August  2, 
1867,  two  hundred  dismounted  Indians  attacked  the 
herders  in  charge  of  the  mule  herd,  but  it  was  scarcely  a 
surprise,  for  the  guard  at  the  corral  was  on  the  alert, 
and  gave  the  alarm  and  also  signalled  the  wood  train, 
which  was  at  the  other  camp  across  the  valley  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain."  The  herders  repulsed  the  first 
attack  and  prevented  a  stampede,  but  sixty  mounted 
Indians  immediately  afterward  dashed  into  the  herd, 

cient  evidence  that  they  were  so.  Indeed,  the  few  casualties  can 
be  accounted  for  under  no  other  hypothesis,  the  thin  sides  of  an 
ordinary  wooden  wagon  bed  offering  to  a  bullet  scarcely  more 
resistance  than  paper. — From  Our  Wild  Indians,  by  Colonel  R.  I. 
Dodge,  page  481. 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.  191 

driving  the  herd  guard  back  toward  the  other  camp, 
and  at  the  same  moment  five  hundred  more  Indians 
appeared  between  the  two  camps  and  attacked  the  wood 
train  and  the  choppers  at  the  other  camp.  The  train 
guard  and  the  wood  choppers  were  compelled  to  aban- 
don the  train  and  take  to  the  woods  fighting,  retreat- 
ing up  the  side  of  the  mountain  opposite  the  fortified 
corral,  and  then  the  Indians  captured  and  fired  the 
train. 

In  the  meantime  Major  Powell's  command,  consist- 
ing of  himself,  one  lieutenant,  twenty-six  enlisted  men, 
and  four  citizens  (thirty-two  in  all)  had  concentrated  at 
the  corral  and  were  straining  every  nerve  in  hastily  add- 
ing whatever  they  could  to  render  their  refuge  stronger 
and  more  safe  against  the  attack  which  they  knew  was 
about  to  be  made  in  overwhelming  numbers.  The  pre- 
ceding day  a  wagon  load  of  clothing  and  blankets  had 
been  brought  to  the  camp  for  issue  to  the  troops,  but 
had  not  been  unloaded.  This  clothing,  still  in  baled 
packages,  was  utilized  to  stop  up  all  open  cracks  in  the 
corral,  while  the  baled  blankets  were  opened  and  placed 
over  the  wagon  bodies  to  conceal  their  occupants.  Boxes 
of  extra  ammunition  were  cut  open  and  placed  in  all  the 
wagon  bodies.  Eevolvers,  axes,  and  hatchets  were  laid 
close  at  hand,  pails  of  water  were  hastily  put  inside 
the  corral  within  reach  of  all  the  occupants,  and  every- 
thing that  could  be  thought  of  by  experienced  men  and 
brave  and  competent  soldiers  was  done  to  enable  them 
to  make  a  desperate  and  determined  fight  for  their 
lives.  If  they  had  to  die,  well  and  good — it  was  a  sol- 
dier's fate — but  they  would  die  fighting,  and  fighting, 
too,  to  the  last  gasp. 

In  the  meantime  the  herders,  having  been  cut  off 


192  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

from  the  corral  by  the  Indians,  were  making  an  at- 
tempt to  join  the  train  guard,  who  with  the  wood 
choppers  had  taken  up  a  position  among  the  rocks 
on  the  side  of  the  mountain.  This  the  Indians  tried 
to  prevent  by  cutting  the  herders  off,  but  Major 
Powell,  perceiving  their  peril,  made  a  sudden  dash 
from  the  corral  with  a  part  of  his  little  command 
and  attacked  these  Indians  in  the  rear,  killing  a  num- 
ber of  them.  This  unexpected  sortie  compelled  them 
to  turn  and  defend  themselves,  which  afforded  the 
herders  the  desired  opportunity,  and  they  safely  effected 
a  junction,  and  'they,  together  with  the  train  guard 
and  the  wood  choppers,  slowly  fell  back  fighting  to  the 
fort,  having  three  soldiers  and  three  citizens  killed  be- 
fore reaching  it.  On  returning  to  the  corral  Major 
Powell  rapidly  but  carefully  made  his  disposition  for 
the  expected  attack,  which  he  knew  was  soon  to  burst 
with  savage  fury  upon  his  little  command.  Each  man 
was  assigned  his  place  in  the  wagon  beds  and  given 
his  especial  loophole  out  of  which  he  was  to  fire.  In 
several  cases  where  the  men  were  not  particularly  good 
shots  they  were  ordered  to  load  and  pass  up  the  rifles  to 
those  who  were,  so  that  a  steady  fire  could  be  kept  up 
during  a  close  attack  and  no  time  be  lost  in  reloading, 
and  just  here  the  extra  rifles  and  thousands  of  rounds 
of  reserve  ammunition  were  of  the  greatest  possible 
service,  for  three  or  even  four  loaded  rifles  were  laid 
by  the  side  of  the  best  rifle  shots,  and  during  the  whole 
action  kept  constantly  reloaded  for  their  use. 

Major  Powell  and  his  little  command  had  ample 
evidence  that  the  surrounding  hills  were  fairly  swarm- 
ing with  Indian  warriors,  and  as  each  man  peered  out 
from  his  loophole  he  knew  that  he  had  not  long  to  wait 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.  193 

for  the  shock  of  battle,  and  then  while  the  hillsides  and 
valleys  rang  with  the  exultant  war  whoops  of  more 
than  two  thousand  onlooking  savages  under  the  great 
war  chief  Eed  Cloud  about  five  hundred  mounted 
Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  with  their  rifles  in  their 
hands  suddenly  dashed  out  of  the  woods  less  than  half 
a  mile  away  and  in  a  dense  mass  made  straight  for  the 
corral.  On  they  came,  shouting  their  war  cry  with  a 
reckless  confidence  as  to  the  result  born  of  their  own 
inherent  strength,  together  with  their  absolute  knowl- 
edge of  the  weakness  of  their  enemies.  They  have 
quickly  covered  nearly  half  the  distance,  but  the  corral 
is  absolutely  silent  and  shows  no  sign  of  life.  Fifty 
yards  farther,  and  it  suddenly  seems  ablaze,  and  the 
next  instant  the  sharp  crack  of  thirty  rifles  sets  the 
echoes  ringing  far  up  the  mountain  side.  On  dash  the 
warriors,  though  death  shrieks  now  mingle  with  their 
war  cry  and  warriors  and  hordes  go  down  together;  still 
the  onrushing  mass  never  hesitates  nor  halts  in  its  mad 
whirl  and  recklessly  sweeps  over  the  fallen  warriors  as 
it  dashes  onward  in  a  vain  endeavour  to  hurl  its  weight 
on  the  little  fire-vomiting  corral,  for  so  rapid  and  de- 
structive is  its  fire  that  before  they  are  within  ten  yards 
of  it  the  horses  recoil.  In  vain  do  the  warriors  sweep 
out  and  surround  it.  From  every  segment  of  the  circle 
rifles  send  forth  death-dealing  bullets,  and  not  for  an 
instant  does  the  fire  slacken  or  cease.  The  desperate 
warriors  dash  up  as  closely  as  they  can  urge  their  fright- 
ened ponies  and  surround  the  corral  and  pour  in  a  gall- 
ing fire  from  the  backs  of  their  horses,  but  it  seems  to 
have  no  effect.  Their  savage  war  cry  is  answered  only 
by  the  steady  and  unceasing  crack  of  rifles  from  the 
corral,  and  it  is  gradually  borne  in  upon  them  that  as 


194:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

it  is  impossible  to  force  their  horses  farther  into  the 
withering  circle  of  fire,  it  is  death  to  stay,  so  with  a 
wild  cry  of  baffled  rage  they  suddenly  turn  and  gallop 
madly  back  to  the  woods,  while  the  soldiers  send  well- 
aimed  bullets  after  them  that  dot  the  open  with  fallen 
men  and  horses  until  they  are  out  of  range.  But,  alas! 
the  defenders  of  the  corral  had  not  escaped  unscathed. 
The  gallant  Lieutenant  Jenness  and  two  of  the  soldiers 
had  been  killed,  but  there  was  no  time  then  to  mourn 
their  death;  rather,  if  anything,  a  savage  determina- 
tion to  avenge,  it.  So  every  man  sprang  to  work  to 
strengthen  the  weak  points  of  defence  which  the  at- 
tack had  developed  and  which  were  at  once  built  up 
with  the  unused  clothing,  chains,  ox  yokes,  stones,  and 
anything  else  readily  obtainable. 

Eed  Cloud  and  his  warriors  were  not  only  terribly 
exasperated  at  this  repulse,  but  they  were  sorely  puz- 
zled. To  them  it  was  incomprehensible,  but  they  had 
yet  many  lessons  to  learn  of  the  killing  qualities  of 
the  (then)  new  breech-loading  Springfield  rifle.  An 
attack  by  the  whole  force  of  Indians  on  foot  was 
now  determined  upon,  so,  quickly  stripping  themselves 
of  everything  except  their  arms  and  ammunition, 
about  six  or  seven  hundred  of  the  Indians  armed  with 
Winchester,  Spencer,  and  other  repeating  rifles  as  well 
as  muzzle  loaders,  stole  well  out  in  the  woods  and  sur- 
rounded the  corral,  and  then  from  every  direction 
crawled  up  through  the  ravines  and  grass  just  outside 
of  range  of  their  unseen  foes  and  lay  quietly  awaiting 
orders.  At  a  given  signal  they  stealthily  advanced 
within  long  range  and  suddenly  opened  a  terrific  concen- 
tric fire  on  the  corral.  But  the  iron  boiler  plate  placed 
in  the  wagon  beds  by  the  quartermaster's  department 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.  195 

was  put  there  to  turn  bullets,  and  turn  bullets  it  did, 
and  not  one  found  its  way  through  the  plates,  though 
hundreds  struck  them,  so  the  little  fortified  corral  lay 
grim  and  silent  and  expectant. 

All  at  once  the  adjacent  hills  seemed  covered  by  In- 
dians, and  more  than  two  thousand  warriors  with  a  wild 
war  chant,  under  the  leadership  of  Ked  Cloud's  nephew 
(a  gallant  young  warrior  who  aspired  to  be  his  uncle's 
successor)  began  a  steady  advance  in  a  vast  semicircle 
prepared  to  rush  in  and  overwhelm  the  defenders  of  the 
corral  as  soon  as  their  own  skirmishers  should  draw 
their  fire  and  silence  it.  The  Indian  skirmishers  now 
redoubled  their  fire,  and  then,  shouting  their  war  cry, 
rushed  bravely  forward,  but  the  instant  they  came 
within  short  range  every  portion  of  the  little  corral  was 
once  more  belching  rifle  shots,  and  the  men  behind  the 
guns  seemed  to  actually  pour  bullets  into  the  advancing 
hordes,  and  not  for  a  single  instant  during  the  assault 
did  the  fire  slacken  or  become  less  in  volume. 

In  vain  did  the  now  desperate  and  enraged  Indian 
braves  try  time  after  time  to  swarm  up  to  and  anni- 
hilate their  invisible  foe  concealed  in  the  little  work. 
Once  in  a  desperate  and  united  rush  they  actually  came 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  corral,  but  at  the  very  crucial 
moment,  when  it  seemed  that  they  were  about  to  over- 
whelm it,  the  aim  of  its  defenders  became  so  true  and 
deadly  and  the  slaughter  so  appalling  that  almost  as  one 
man  they  suddenly  broke  and  fled  out  of  range,  wildly 
demoralized  and  panic-stricken.  For  three  long  hours, 
with  greater  or  less  intensity  as  the  different  subchiefs 
led  the  various  assaults,  was  this  desperate  contest 
waged  by  these  Indians  against  their  still  unseen  foe, 
until  at  length  it  became  whispered  about  among 


196  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  chiefs  with  bated  breath  that  there  was  some- 
thing uncanny  behind  the  wagon  beds  and  the  con- 
cealed whites  were  making  "  big  medicine "  against 
them,  and  finally,  worn  out  by  their  repeated  charges, 
shattered,  demoralized,  and  beaten,  the  baffled  savages 
turned  and  fled  in  consternation  to  the  hills  well 
beyond  range  of  the  deadly  rifles  of  the  besieged 
soldiers. 

Red  Cloud  and  some  of  the  older  chiefs,  who 
had  been  watching  this  fight  from  the  hills,  could  not 
comprehend  how  it  was  possible  that  such  a  continu- 
ous and  destructive  fire  could  come  from  the  few 
men  which  the  little  corral  was  able  to  hold,  and 
they,  too,  finally  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  white 
men  had  "  medicine  guns  "  that  could  fire  continuously. 
Accordingly,  Red  Cloud  gave  orders  to  secure  the  dead 
and  carry  back  the  wounded,  and  once  more  the  Indi- 
ans opened  fire  upon  the  corral  that  this  might  be  suc- 
cessfully accomplished.  There  is  nothing  so  disheart- 
ening to  the  Indian  warrior  as  being  compelled  to  aban- 
don his  dead  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  he  will  run  great 
risks  to  avoid  leaving  them.  In  this  case  it  was  espe- 
cially difficult  to  get  off  such  of  the  dead  as  had  fallen 
close  to  the  corral,  but  by  crawling  up  through  the  lit- 
tle inequalities  of  the  ground,  thereby  getting  as  near 
the  dead  bodies  of  their  comrades  as  they  could  with- 
out being  discovered,  and  then  crouching  beneath  their 
buffalo-hide  shields  and  rushing  quickly  forward  and 
fastening  around  the  leg  of  the  dead  warrior  a  slip 
noose  placed  at  the  end  of  half  a  dozen  horsehair  lari- 
ats tied  together,  and  dropping  prone  on  the  ground 
and  crawling  back,  while  the  Indians  out  of  range  drew 
the  body  back  to  them,  they  managed  to  get  possession 


INDIAN  TROUBLES  OF  WESTERN  FRONTIER.  197 

of  a  large  number  of  their  dead  with  comparatively  few 
casualties. 

While  the  Indians  were  doing  this  the  sound  of 
a  field  piece  near  at  hand  and  the  bursting  of  a  shell 
among  the  savages  told  the  little  band  in  the  corral 
that  succour  was  at  hand.  Answering  the  loud  re- 
port of  the  field  piece  with  a  ringing  cheer  to  let  their 
friends  know  that  they  were  still  in  the  land  of  the 
living,  they  laid  low  until  the  arrival  of  Major  Smith 
with  one  hundred  men  with  a  mountain  howitzer  from 
the  fort  assured  them  of  safety.  Lieutenant  Jenness 
and  two  enlisted  men  killed  and  two  wounded  was  the 
extent  of  the  casualties  among  the  little  band  of  heroes. 

Major  Powell  modestly  put  the  Indian  loss  at  sixty 
killed  and  twice  that  number  wounded,  but  every  man 
of  his  force  said  that  he  had  not  stated  a  quarter  of 
their  casualties.  He  also  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that 
but  for  the  arrival  of  Major  Smith  the  Indians  would 
have  renewed  the  attack  and  eventually  annihilated 
his  command;  but  a  few  months  later  the  truth  leaked 
out.  Red  Cloud  was  thoroughly  whipped,  and  was 
only  threatening  the  corral  to  recover  his  dead.  There 
was  no  thought  on  his  part  of  a  further  attack. 
His  whole  force  was  demoralized  and  stampeded,  and 
on  the  arrival  of  Major  Smith  he  fell  back  as  rapidly 
as  possible  and  retreated  as  fast  as  carrying  his  dead 
and  wounded  would  permit  him.  And  well  he  might 
be  glad  to  get  away,  for  a  wounded  Sioux  chief  who 
visited  the  post  of  Colonel  R.  I.  Dodge  at  North  Platte 
late  in  the  fall  of  1867  told  him  that  the  number  of 
Indians  in  the  fight  was  over  three  thousand,  and  a 
prominent  medicine  man  of  the  Sioux  told  him  (the 
Sioux  chief)  that  "  the  total  loss  in  killed  and  wounded 
14 


198  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  Indians  of  all  tribes  and  bands  "  at  that  fight  was 
eleven  hundred  and  thirty-seven.  The  Sioux  had  paid 
dearly  for  the  dead  of  the  previous  December.  The 
next  spring  this  post,  as  well  as  two  others,  was  aban- 
doned in  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  a  treaty  of  peace 
entered  into  with  the  Sioux  and  Cheyennes,  who  burned 
them  to  the  ground  as  soon  as  the  troops  had  left  them. 
Another  chapter  will  show  how  well  they  kept  it. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE   SIOUX   CAMPAIGN   OF    1868   AND    1869. 

So  many  criticisms  have  been  passed  on  the  army's 
Indian  campaigns  on  the  Western  plains  since  the 
civil  war  by  really  good  and  philanthropic  people,  un- 
fortunately with  no  adequate  knowledge  of  the  facts 
that  brought  it  about,  that  it  may  be  well  to  give  my 
readers  a  few  extracts  from  the  official  reports  of  two 
of  our  best-known  generals  to  disabuse  their  minds  of 
the  idea  that  the  army  incited  them,  but  before  I  do  so 
I  wish  to  quote  for  their  benefit  the  opinion  of  these 
Indians  by  the  late  Colonel  Richard  I.  Dodge,  who  was 
by  far  the  ablest  writer  and  best-informed  man  in  re- 
gard to  their  mode  of  life,  habits,  and  character  who 
has  lived  in  recent  times.  He  spent  the  best  portion 
of  his  life  on  the  great  plains,  frequently  living  among 
them,  for  he  was  a  mighty  hunter  and  loved  wild  life, 
and  he  made  these  people  a  painstaking  study.  He  has 
written  of  their  good  and  bad  qualities  without  a  shadow 
of  partiality,  and  ever  and  always  with  a  desire  to  do 
them  justice,  and  he  sums  up  tersely  and  accurately 
the  reason  why  an  Indian  develops  into  what  he  actual- 
ly becomes  in  the  following  words: 

"Eastern  people,  .  .  .  misled  by  the  traveller's 
tales  of  enthusiastic  missionaries  or  the  more  inter- 

199 


200  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

ested  statements  of  [Indian]  agents  and  professional 
humanitarians,  and  indulging  in  a  philanthropy  safe 
because  distant  and  sincere  because  ignorant,  are  ready 
to  believe  all  impossible  good  and  nothing  bad  of  the 
noble  savage,  .  .  .  while  the  Western  man  who  has 
lost  his  horses,  had  his  house  burned,  or  his  wife  vio- 
lated or  murdered  finds  a  whole  lifetime  of  hatred 
and  revenge  too  little  to  devote  to  his  side  of  the 
question. 

"  The  conception  of  Indian  character  is  almost  im- 
possible to  a  man  who  has  passed  the  greater  portion 
of  his  life  surrounded  by  the  influences  of  a  cultivated, 
refined,  and  moral  society.  .  .  .  The  truth  is  simply 
too  shocking,  and  the  revolted  mind  takes  refuge  in  dis- 
belief as  the  less  painful  horn  of  the  dilemma.  As  a 
first  step  toward  an  understanding  of  his  character  we 
must  get  at  his  standpoint  of  morality.  As  a  child  he 
is  not  brought  up.  .  .  .  From  the  dawn  of  intelligence 
his  own  will  is  his  law.  There  is  no  right  and  no  wrong 
to  him.  .  .  .  No  dread  of  punishment  restrains  him 
from  any  act  that  boyish  fun  or  fury  may  prompt.  No 
lessons  inculcating  the  beauty  and  sure  reward  of  good- 
ness or  the  hideousness  and  certain  pnishment  of  vice 
are  ever  wasted  on  him.  The  men  by  whom  he  is  sur- 
rounded, and  to  whom  he  looks  as  models  for  his  future 
life,  are  great  and  renowned  just  in  proportion  to  their 
ferocity,  to  the  scalps  they  have  taken,  or  the  thefts 
they  have  committed.  His  earliest  boyish  memory  is 
probably  a  dance  of  rejoicing  over  the  scalps  of  stran- 
gers, all  of  whom  he  is  taught  to  regard  as  enemies.  The 
lessons  of  his  mother  awaken  only  a  desire  to  take  his 
place  as  soon  as  possible  in  fight  and  foray.  The  in- 
struction of  his  father  is  only  such  as  is  calculated  to 
fit  him  best  to  act  a  prominent  part  in  the  chase,  in 
theft,  and  in  murder.  .  .  .  Virtue,  morality,  generosity, 
honour,  are  words  not  only  absolutely  without  signifi- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  201 

cance  to  him,  but  are  not  accurately  translatable  into 
any  Indian  language  on  the  plains."  * 

That  people  of  this  peculiar  training  should  break 
treaties  at  will  was  only  to  be  expected,  especially 
when  they  deemed  themselves  the  stronger  party,  as 
they  certainly  did  after  the  abandonment  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  posts  of  Forts  Phil  Kearny,  Reno,  and 
C.  F.  Smith  at  their  imperative  demand.  The  Indian 
accedes  to  a  demand  only  from  one  consideration — fear. 
Nothing  else  will  move  him;  and  the  fact  that  we  had 
given  up  these  posts  on  their  threat  of  war  at  once  set- 
tled the  question  in  their  minds  of  the  strength  of  the 
relative  forces.  The  condition  of  affairs  on  the  border 
that  grew  out  of  this  act  upon  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment is  perhaps  best  shown  in  the  following  extracts 
from  the  annual  reports  of  Generals  Sherman  and 
Sheridan  submitted  to  the  Secretary  of  War  in  1868: 

"REPORT  OF  LIEUTENANT-GENERAL 
W.  T.  SHERMAN. 

"  HEADQUARTERS  MILITARY  DIVISION  OF  THE  MISSOURI, 

"  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI,  November  1, 1868. 

"  GENERAL:  The  military  division  of  the  Missouri  is 
still  composed  of  the  departments  of  Missouri,  Platte, 
and  Dakota,  embracing  substantially  the  country  west 
of  the  Mississippi  River  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in- 
cluding New  Mexico,  Utah,  and  Montana. 

"  These  departments  are  commanded  by  Generals 
Sheridan,  Augur,  and  Terry. 

"  You  will  observe  that  while  the  country  generally 
has  been  at  peace,  the  people  on  the  plains  and  the 
troops  of  my  command  have  been  constantly  at  war,  en- 

*  The  Plains  of  the  Great  West,  by  Richard  Irving  Dodge, 
G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons.  Pages  255-257. 


202  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

during  all  its  dangers  and  hardships,  with  none  of  its 
honours  or  rewards. 

"  It  has  always  been  most  difficult  to  discover  the 
exact  truth  concerning  the  cause  of  a  rupture  with  any 
Indians.  They  never  give  notice  beforehand  of  a  war- 
like intention,  and  the  first  notice  comes  after  their 
rifles  and  lances  have  done  much  bloody  work.  All 
intercourse  then  necessarily  ceases,  and  the  original 
cause  soon  becomes  buried  in  after  events.  The  pres- 
ent Indian  war  in  General  Sheridan's  department  is  no 
exception,  and,  as  near  as  I  can  gather  it,  the  truth  is 
about  this: 

"Last  year,  in  the  several  councils  held  at  North 
Platte  and  Fort  Laramie  by  the  peace  commission  with 
fragmentary  bands  of  Sioux,  the  Indians  asserted  that 
they  were  then,  and  had  been  always,  anxious  to  live  at 
peace  with  their  white  neighbours,  provided  we  kept 
faith  with  them.  They  claimed  that  the  building  of 
the  Powder  River  road,  and  the  establishment  of  mili- 
tary posts  along  it,  drove  away  the  game  from  the  only 
hunting  grounds  they  had  left  after  our  occupation  of 
Montana  and  Nebraska;  that  this  road  had  been  built 
in  the  face  of  their  protest  and  in  violation  of  some  old 
treaty  which  guaranteed  them  that  country  forever. 
That  road  and  the  posts  along  it  had  been  constructed 
in  1865  and  1866,  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  Mon- 
tana, but  had  almost  ceased  to  be  of  any  practical  use 
to  them  by  reason  of  the  building  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad,  whose  terminus  west  of  the  Black  Hills  made 
it  easier  for  the  wagons  to  travel  by  an  older  and  better 
road  west  of  the  mountains. 

"  For  this  reason^  and  because  the  farther  extension 
of  this  railroad,  under  rapid  progress,  would  each  year 
make  the  Powder  River  road  less  and  less  used,  the  com- 
mission yielded  to  the  earnest  entreaty  of  the  Sioux, 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  203 

and  recommended  the  abandonment  for  the  time  of 
this  road.  On  the  second  day  of  last  March,  General 
Grant  gave  the  necessary  orders  for  breaking  up  the 
posts  Forts  Eeno,  Phil  Kearny,  and  C.  F.  Smith;  but 
it  was  well  toward  August  before  the  stores  and  mate- 
rial could  all  be  hauled  away.  As  we  had  reason  to 
apprehend,  some  of  the  Sioux,  attributing  our  action 
to  fear,  followed  up  our  withdrawal  by  raids  to  the  line 
of  the  Pacific  road,  and  to  the  south  of  it  into  Colo- 
rado. Others  of  them  doubtless  reached  the  camps  of 
the  Arapahoes  on  Beaver  Creek  and  the  Cheyenne 
camps  on  Pawnee  Fork,  near  Fort  Larned,  and  told 
them  what  had  occurred,  and  made  them  believe  that 
by  war,  or  threats  of  war,  they  too  could  compel  us  to 
abandon  the  Smoky  Hill  line,  which  passes  through  the 
very  heart  of  the  buffalo  region,  the  best  hunting 
grounds  of  America. 

"  About  this  time — viz.,  August  3d  or  4th — a  party 
of  Indians,  composed  of  two  hundred  Cheyennes,  four 
Arapahoes,  and  twenty  Sioux,  are  known  to  have  start- 
ed from  their  camp  on  Pawnee  Fork  on  a  war  expedi- 
tion, nominally  to  fight  the  Pawnees.  On  the  10th  they 
appeared  on  the  Saline  north  of  Fort  Harker,  where  the 
settlers  received  them  kindly;  they  were  given  food  and 
coffee,  but,  pretending  to  be  offended  because  it  was  in 
'  tin  cups/  they  threw  it  back  in  the  faces  of  the  women 
and  began  at  once  to  break  up  furniture  and  set  fire  to 
the  houses.  They  seized  the  women  and  ravished  them, 
perpetrating  atrocities  which  could  only  have  been  the 
result  of  premeditated  crime.  Here  they  killed  two 
men.  Thence  they  crossed  over  to  the  settlements  on 
the  Solomon,  where  they  continued  to  destroy  houses 
and  property,  to  ravish  all  females,  and  killed  thirteen 
men.  Going  on  to  the  Eepublican,  they  killed  two 
more  men  and  committed  other  acts  of  similar  brutal 
atrocity.  As  soon  as  intelligence  of  this  could  be  car- 


204:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

ried  to  Fort  Barker  troops  were  sent  in  pursuit,  who 
succeeded  in  driving  them  away,  rescuing  some  captive 
children,  and  killing  but  few  Indians,  by  reason  of  their 
fast  ponies  and  familiarity  with  the  country. 

"  I  recite  these  facts  with  some  precision,  because 
they  are  proved  beyond  dispute,  and  up  to  the  very  mo- 
ment of  their  departure  from  Pawnee  Fork  no  Indian 
alleges  any  but  the  kindest  treatment  on  the  part  of 
the  agents  of  the  General  Government,  of  our  soldiers, 
or  of  the  frontier  people. 


"  On  the  4th  of  September  Governor  Hunt  tele- 
graphed fne  from  Denver:  *  Just  returned.  Fearful  con- 
dition of  things  here.  Nine  persons  murdered  by  Indi- 
ans yesterday  within  a  radius  of  sixty  miles/  etc.  And 
on  the  24th  of  September,  Acting-Governor  Hall  again 
telegraphed  from  Denver:  '  The  Indians  have  again  at- 
tacked our  settlements  in  strong  force,  obtaining  pos- 
session of  the  country  to  within  twelve  miles  of  Denver. 
They  are  more  bold,  fierce,  and  desperate  in  their  as- 
saults than  ever  before.  It  is  impossible  to  drive  them 
out  and  protect  the  families  at  the  same  time,  for  they 
are  better  a>rmed,  mounted,  disciplined,  and  better  offi- 
cered than  our  men.  Each  hour  brings  intelligence  of 
fresh  barbarities,  and  more  extensive  robberies/  etc. 

"  On  the  4th  of  September  Governor  Crawford,  of 
Kansas,  telegraphed  from  Topeka:  '  Have  just  received 
a  despatch  from  Hays,  stating  that  Indians  attacked, 
captured,  and  burned  a  train  at  Pawnee  Fork,  killed, 
scalped,  and  burned  sixteen  men;  also  attacked  another 
train  at  Cimarron  crossing,  which  was  defended  until 
ammunition  was  exhausted,  when  the  men  abandoned 
the  train,  saving  what  stock  they  could.  Similar  at- 
tacks are  of  almost  daily  occurrence.  These  things  must 
cease.  I  can  not  disregard  constant  and  persistent  ap- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF   1868-'69.  205 

peals  for  help.  I  can  not  sit  idly  by  and  see  our  people 
butchered,  but  as  a  last  resort  will  be  obliged  to  call 
upon  the  State  forces  to  take  the  field  and  end  these 
outrages.' 

"All  this  time  General  Sheridan  in  person  was 
labouring  with  every  soldier  of  his  command  to  give  all 
possible  protection  to  the  scattered  people  in  that  wide 
range  of  country  from  Kansas  to  Colorado  and  New 
Mexico.  But  the  very  necessity  of  guarding  interests  so 
widely  scattered  made  it  impossible  to  spare  enough 
troops  to  go  in  search  of  the  Indians  in  their  remote 
camps. 

"  This  double  process  of  peace  within  their  reser- 
vations and  war  without  must  soon  bring  this  matter  to 
a  conclusion. 

"  With  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 
"W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

"Lieutenant  General. 
"  Brevet  Major-General  E.  D.  TOWNSEND, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General,  Washington,  D.  C." 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  MISSOURI, 
"!N  THE  FIELD,  FORT  HAYS,  September  26, 1868. 

"  GENERAL:  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  September  17, 
1868,  asking  for  a  report  of  the  facts  touching  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  Indian  troubles,  I  have  the  hon- 
our to  respectfully  submit  the  following: 

"  Early  in  the  spring,  after  assuming  command  of 
the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  I  visited  the  line  of 
military  posts  on  the  Arkansas.  About  Fort  Dodge, 
Kansas,  I  found  many  Indians  there  encamped,  em- 
bracing Kiowas,  Comanches,  Arapahoes,  and  Chey- 
ennes.  They  asked  me  to  have  an  interview  with  them, 


206  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

which  I  declined,  stating  to  them  that  I  was  simply 
visiting  the  military  posts  to  learn  their  condition  and 
that  of  the  soldiers,  and  that  I  was  not  authorized  to 
talk  with  them. 

"  From  all  I  could  learn  at  Dodge  there  appeared 
to  be  outspoken  dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of  all  these 
Indians  to  removing  to  the  reservations  assigned  to 
them  by  the  treaty  of  Medicine  Lodge  Creek  of  the 
previous  fall.  I  learned  from  officers  and  others  that 
all  the  tribes  considered  the  treaty  of  no  importance, 
save  to  get  the  annuities  promised  them  in  it,  and  that 
they  did  not  intend  to  move  to  their  reservations. 

<e  The  manner  of  the  Indians,  so  far  as  I  saw,  was 
insolent  and  overbearing,  and  so  manifest  as  to  cause 
me  to  take  all  the  precautions  in  my  power  to  protect 
railroad  and  other  lines  of  travel  in  the  district  of  the 
upper  Arkansas. 

"  The  difficulty  of  maintaining  peace  for  the  sum- 
mer was  then  so  apparent,  and  my  desire  to  maintain 
friendly  relations  so  great,  that  I  thought  I  would  en- 
gage three  good  men  familiar  with  Indian  language 
and  well  known  in  the  tribes,  so  that  any  misunder- 
standing or  accidental  circumstance  might  be  explained 
at  once  and  under  my  own  immediate  directions.  In 
carrying  out  this  intention  I  employed  Mr.  William 
Comstock,  Mr.  Grover,  and  Mr.  Parr,  giving  to  Corn- 
stock  and  Grover  all  Indians  west  of  Wallace  and  on 
the  head  waters  of  Walnut  and  Pawnee  Creeks,  and  to 
Mr.  Parr  all  Indians  on  the  Solomon  and  Saline,  placing 
in  charge  of  these  scouts  Lieutenant  F.  H.  Beecher, 
Third  Infantry,  a  very  intelligent  and  trustworthy  offi- 
cer, with  directions  to  communicate  to  me  every  week, 
or  oftener,  and  to  use  every  effort  to  maintain  peace. 
Much  good  was  accomplished  by  Beecher  and  his  three 
men,  who  travelled  constantly  and  kept  me  well  posted 
on  the  location  of  the  Indians  and  their  movements. 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  207 

Lieutenant  Beecher  and  these  scouts  were  under  my 
own  especial  orders. 

"  Matters  went  on  pretty  well  until  the  arrival  of 
the  Kiowas  and  Comanches  at  Fort  Lamed,  about  the 
4th  of  July,  except  occasionally  trains  would  be  stopped 
on  the  roads,  and  coffee,  sugar,  and  food  demanded  and 
obtained  before  they  were  allowed  to  go  on.  Previous 
to  their  arrival  the  most  threatening  reports  reached 
me  of  their  intentions. 


"  On  the  3d  or  4th  of  August  a  party  of  about  two 
hundred  Cheyennes,  four  Arapahoes,  and  twenty 
Siouxs,  then  visiting  the  Cheyennes,  organized  and  left 
their  camps  on  Pawnee  Creek  and  proceeded  first  to  the 
Saline  Valley,  north  of  Fort  Harker.  They  were  kindly 
received  by  two  farmers  living  in  the  advanced  settle- 
ments, and  given  coffee,  etc.  After  throwing  the  coffee 
in  the  faces  of  the  women  serving  it  to  them,  because 
it  was  given  to  them  in  tin  cups,  they  then  commenced 
the  robbery  of  the  houses,  and  violated  the  women  until 
they  were  insensible  from  brutal  treatment.  This  was 
on  the  10th  of  August.  They  then  crossed  to  the  set- 
tlements on  the  Solomon,  approaching  them  on  the 
12th,  where  they  were  again  kindly  received  and  served 
with  coffee;  after  which  they  commenced  robbing  the 
house,  taking  the  stock,  ravishing  the  women,  and  mur- 
dering thirteen  men.  Two  of  the  women  outraged  were 
also  shot  and  badly  wounded.  A  small  party  then 
crossed  to  the  Republican  and  killed  two  persons  there; 
but  the  main  party  returned  to  the  Saline,  carrying  with 
them  as  captives  two  children  named  Bell.  After  arriv- 
ing at  the  Saline  they  commenced  attacking  the  set- 
tlers, evidently  with  the  intention  of  cleaning  out  the 
whole  valley;  but  while  Mr.  Schermerhorn  was  defend- 
ing his  house,  Colonel  Benteen  with  his  company  of 


208  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  Seventh  Cavalry,  which  had  marched  swiftly  from 
Zarah,  arrived,  and,  hearing  the  firing,  went  to  the  relief 
of  the  house  which  was  being  attacked,  and  ran  the 
Indians  about  ten  miles.  Lieutenant  Beecher,  who  was 
with  his  scouts  on  Walnut  Creek,  hearing  there  was 
trouble  on  the  Solomon  and  Saline,  but  without  know- 
ing its  nature,  despatched  Comstock  and  Grover  to  the 
camp  of  Turkey  Leg,  on  the  Solomon,  to  be  ready  to 
explain  in  case  the  white  people  were  at  fault.  They 
were  ordered  out  of  Turkey  Leg  camp,  and  were  fol- 
lowed by  a  party  of  seven  Indians,  professing  friend- 
ship; and  while  conversing  with  them  were  both  shot 
in  the  back — Comstock  killed  instantly  and  Grover  bad- 
ly wounded;  but  by  lying  on  the  ground,  making  a  de- 
fence of  Comstock's  body,  he  kept  the  Indians  off  and 
made  his  escape  in  the  darkness  of  the  night.  From 
this  time  out,  and  almost  before  information  could  be 
communicated  by  Indian  runners,  people  were  killed 
and  scalped  from  the  Cimarron  River,  south  of  the 
Arkansas,  to  the  Eepublican,  and  from  the  settlements 
on  the  Solomon  and  Saline  west  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains; stock  run  off,  trains  burned,  and  those  accom- 
panying them  in  some  cases  thrown  into  the  flames  and 
consumed.  The  most  horrible  barbarities  were  perpe- 
trated on  the  dead  bodies  of  these  victims  of  savage 
ferocity. 

"  There  was  no  provocation  on  the  part  of  the  white 
people  during  the  whole  summer,  although  some  of 
them  had  to  abandon  their  ranches.  Friendly  issues 
were  made  at  the  military  posts  to  the  Indians  visiting 
them,  and  large  issues  made  by  the  Indian  Department 
of  rations  and  goods. 


"  I  respectfully  append  a  list  of  casualties  and  dep- 
redations reported  to  me  from  the  10th  of  August  to 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  209 

the  17th  of  September.  This  report  does  not  cover  all 
the  murders  or  the  amount  of  damage  done.  The  total 
number  murdered  on  this  list  is  sixty-four. 

"I  am,  general,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant, 

"  P.  H.  SHERIDAN, 

"  Major  General,  U.  S.  A. 
"  Lieutenant-General  W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

*4  Commanding  Military  Division  of  the  Missouri, 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 
"A  true  copy: 

"  J.  SCHUYLER  CROSBY, 
"  Brevet  Lieutenant  Colonel,  A.  D.  C.,  A.  A.  A.  G." 

The  moment  it  became  evident  that  war  with  the 
Indians  could  be  no  longer  avoided,  General  Sheridan, 
who  was  then  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Mis- 
souri, with  his  headquarters  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kan- 
sas, at  once  took  the  field  in  person.  I  was  at  that  time 
a  major  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  of  United  States  cav- 
alry and  serving  upon  his  staff  as  an  acting  inspector 
general,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  I  accompanied  my 
chief  to  the  field.  He  had  an  unusually  able  and  com- 
petent staff,  and  I  felt  that  I  could  be  easily  spared 
and,  under  the  circumstances,  render  more  efficient 
service  if  placed  directly  in  command  of  troops;  still  I 
could  not  see  how  I  could  be  given  a  command,  as  I 
was  junior  to  most  of  the  field  officers  then  serving  in 
the  department.  However,  I  finally  ventured  to  state 
my  wishes  to  the  general.  He  said  that  he  would  be 
glad  to  give  me  a  command  that  was  commensurate 
with  my  rank  if  he  had  the  troops,  but  that  as  things 
were  it  was  impossible  to  justly  do  so;  still  there  was 
a  way  in  which  I  might  have  an  independent  command 


210  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  case  I  was  willing  to  waive  rank.    I  gladly  accepted 
his  offer,  and  it  resulted  in  the  following  order: 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OP  THE  MISSOURI, 

"  FORT  HARKER,  August  %4, 1868. 

"Brevet  Colonel  George  A.  Forsyth,  A.  A.  Inspector  General, 
Department  of  the  Missouri  : 

"  COLONEL:  The  general  commanding  directs  that 
you,  without  delay,  employ  fifty  first-class  hardy  fron- 
tiersmen to  be  used  as  scouts  against  the  hostile  Indi- 
ans, to  be  commanded  by  yourself,  with  Lieutenant 
Beecher,  Third  Infantry,  as  your  subordinate.  You  can 
enter  into  such  articles  of  agreement  with  these  men  as 
will  compel  obedience. 

"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 
"  (Signed)  J.  SCHUYLEK  CROSBY, 

"  A.  D.  C.  and  A.  A.  Adjutant  General" 

As  there  was  no  legal  authority  to  enlist  scouts  as 
a  part  of  the  regular  army  nor  as  volunteers,  I  was  given 
authority  to  enrol  my  company  as  quartermaster's 
employees,  agreeing  to  pay  them  a  stipulated  sum  per 
day  while  so  employed.  They  were,  however,  to  mount 
themselves,  but  the  Government  was  to  allow  them 
thirty  cents  a  day  for  the  use  of  their  horses,  and  in 
case  the  horses  were  worn  out  or  killed  in  service  they 
were  to  receive  full  value  for  them.  Arms,  horse  equip- 
ments, and  rations  were  furnished  by  the  Government. 
The  military  organization  was  that  of  a  troop  of  cav- 
alry. Five  days  from  the  time  I  received  the  order  I 
had  enrolled  the  fifty  men  called  for,  and  in  compli- 
ance with  instruction  contained  in  the  following  note 
we  took  the  field: 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  211 

"  FORT  HAYS,  KANSAS,  August  29, 1868. 

"  Brevet  Colonel  George  A.  Forsyth,  Commanding  Detachment 
of  Scouts  : 

"  I  would  suggest  that  you  move  across  the  head 
waters  of  Solomon  (River)  to  Beaver  Creek,  thence  down 
that  creek  to  Fort  Wallace.     On  arrival  at  Wallace 
report  to  me  by  telegraph  at  this  place. 
"  Yours  truly, 

"  P.  H.  SHERIDAN, 

"Major  General:9 

Our  equipment  was  simple:  A  blanket  apiece,  saddle 
and  bridle,  a  lariat  and  picket  pin,  a  canteen,  a  haver- 
sack, butcher  knife,  tin  plate,  tin  cup,  a  Spencer 
repeating  rifle  (carrying  six  shots  in  the  magazine  be- 
sides the  one  in  the  barrel),  a  Colt's  revolver  (army 
size),  and  a  hundred  and  forty  rounds  of  rifle  and  thirty 
rounds  of  revolver  ammunition  per  man — this  carried 
on  the  person.  In  addition,  we  had  a  pack  train  of  four 
mules,  carrying  camp  kettles  and  picks  and  shovels,  in 
case  it  became  necessary  to  dig  for  water,  together  with 
four  thousand  extra  rounds  of  ammunition,  some  medi- 
cal supplies,  and  extra  rations  of  salt  and  coffee.  Each 
man,  officers  included,  carried  seven  days'  cooked  ra- 
tions in  his  haversack. 

This  troop  of  scouts  was  in  many  respects  a  most 
remarkable  one.  Lieutenant  Frederick  H.  Beecher,  my 
subordinate,  was  a  man  of  marked  ability,  a  son  of 
the  Rev.  Charles  Beecher,  and  a  nephew  of  the 
Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher.  He  had  a  fine  war 
record,  and  was  lame  for  life  from  the  effect  of  a  bullet 
received  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Cool,  quiet,  self- 
possessed,  and  of  undaunted  bravery,  he  had  in  him 
all  the  elements  of  an  officer  and  a  gentleman.  Dr. 


212  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

J.  H.  Mooers,  my  acting  assistant  surgeon,  had  been  a 
major  and  surgeon  in  one  of  the  New  York  volunteer 
regiments  during  the  civil  war.  My  acting  post  ser- 
geant was  William  H.H.McCall,  who  had  commanded  a 
Pennsylvania  regiment  in  front  of  Petersburg,  Va.,  and 
was  brevetted  a  brigadier  general  for  his  splendid  han- 
dling of  his  troops  when  General  J.  B.  Gordon,  of  the 
Confederate  army,  attacked  and  carried  Fort  Stedman 
one  spring  morning  in  1865  during  the  siege  of  Peters- 
burg. My  guide,  Sharpe  Grover,  was  one  of  the  ablest 
plainsmen  of  his  day,  a  man  about  forty  years  of  age, 
and  has  already  been  mentioned  in  General  Sheridan's 
report,  quoted  above. 

The  soldiers  as  a  class  were  wonderfully  good  men; 
many  of  them  had  been  soldiers  in  either  the  regu- 
lar, volunteer,  or  Confederate  service,  and  their  in- 
dividual histories,  drifting  as  they  had  to  the  fron- 
tier after  our  civil  war,  must  have  been  worth  hear- 
ing and  recording.  They  were  of  many  different  occu- 
pations, trades,  and  professions,  and  among  them  were 
farmers,  drovers,  teachers,  lawyers,  mechanics,  and  mer- 
chants, with,  as  I  have  said  before,  a  large  percentage 
of  old  soldiers,  and  with  one  or  two  exceptions  they 
were  accustomed  to  the  use  of  firearms  and  good  aver- 
age marksmen,  some  few  of  them  being  exceedingly 
good  shots,  although  in  those  days  rifle  practice  in 
or  out  of  the  army  was  not  by  any  comparative  degree 
equal  to  the  proficiency  since  attained. 

Following  out  the  line  indicated  in  the  instructions 
of  the  commanding  general,  I  moved  straight  for  the 
Saline  River,  crossed  it  and  the  south  fork  of  the  Solo- 
mon River,  and  reached  Beaver  Creek  at  its  junction 
with  Short  Nose  Creek.  Here  there  had  evidently  been 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  213 

a  very  large  camp  of  Indians,  and  there  were  all  the  in- 
dications of  their  having  held  a  great  sun  dance  at  this 
place,  probably  just  before  or  after  they  had  decided  to 
go  upon  the  war  path.  I  scouted  up  this  creek  beyond 
timber  line,  but  did  not  find  any  fresh  trails,  so  I  moved 
directly  across  country  to  Fort  Wallace,  arriving  there 
on  the  night  of  the  5th  of  September.  I  found  here  a 
despatch  from  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  Kansas 
urging  me  to  go  to  the  protection  of  the  exposed  settlers 
near  Bison  Basin.  I  should  have  done  so  had  not  word 
reached  me  at  daylight  the  next  morning  from  the  town 
of  Sheridan,  then  located  at  the  end  of  the  Kansas 
Pacific  Eailroad,  thirteen  miles  distant,  that  a  freight- 
er's train  had  been  attacked  by  Indians  near  there  on 
the  preceding  evening  and  two  teamsters  killed,  al- 
though the  Indians  had  been  driven  off  by  the  other 
teamsters,  who,  fortunately,  were  well  armed. 

Leaving  two  of  my  men  sick  in  hospital  at  Fort  Wal- 
lace, I  moved  immediately  to  the  scene  of  the  attack. 
It  had  evidently  been  made  by  a  war  party,  probably  not 
more  than  twenty  strong.  We  followed  the  trail  until 
nightfall,  camped  on  it,  and  resumed  the  march  at  day- 
light. By  nine  o'clock  it  had  disappeared.  The  In- 
dians had  scattered,  with,  in  all  probability,  an  agree- 
ment to  meet  at  a  given  point  many  miles  distant. 

After  a  brief  consultation  with  Lieutenant  Beecher, 
my  chief  scout  Grover,  and  McCall,  I  decided  to  circle 
until  we  could  pick  up  the  trail  somewhere  and  follow  it 
to  its  junction  with  the  main  body  of  Indians  to  which  it 
belonged.  Circling  out  and  steadily  seeking  for  the  trail, 
with  a  general  trend  toward  Short  Nose  Creek,  in  which 
direction  I  expected  to  find  the  Indians,  on  the  fifth  day 

out  from  Fort  Wallace  we  reached  the  north  bank  of 
15 


214:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  Republican  River.  As  one  of  my  scouts  urged  his 
horse  to  water  through  the  willow  copse  on  its  bank 
he  stumbled  upon  a  recently  abandoned  wicki-up — a 
temporary  shelter  made  by  the  Indians  interlacing  the 
overhanging  boughs  of  bushes  and  covering  the  top 
with  leaves  and  grass.  Two  dismounted  Indians  had 
occupied  it,  probably  within  the  last  twenty-four  hours. 

We  took  up  their  trail  at  once,  and  soon  ran  upon  a 
very  recently  abandoned  camp  of  three  mounted  Indi- 
ans, and,  following  their  trail,  it  led  us  to  a  trail  made 
by  a  war  party  of  at  least  twenty  mounted  Indians.  We 
followed  this  to  the  forks  of  the  Republican  River.  It 
soon  crossed  to  the  north  side  of  the  stream,  and  smaller 
trails  from  both  north  and  south  constantly  entered  it, 
until  at  length  it  became  almost  a  beaten  road  along 
which  it  was  plainly  evident  several  large  Indian  vil- 
lages had  recently  gone  with  all  their  belongings  in 
the  shape  of  ponies  loaded  with  lodge  poles,  which,  drag- 
ging along  on  the  ground,  had  worn  deep  ruts  in  the 
soil,  together  with  droves  of  horses  and  ponies  and  pack 
mules,  some  of  them  partially  shod,  with  indications  of 
many  dogs  in  the  column,  which  was  strong  confirma- 
tion that  the  Indians  were  moving  their  families  to  a 
permanent  camp  well  out  of  harm's  way. 

About  this  time  some  of  my  men  grew  apprehensive, 
and  a  sort  of  committee  came  to  me  and  entered  a  pro- 
test upon  our  further  advance  into  the  Indian  country. 
I  told  them  that  we  were  out  to  find  and  fight  Indians, 
and  that  I  was  taking  all  the  risks  that  they  were;  that 
some  of  these  Indians  upon  whose  trail  we  were  now 
moving  were  part  of  the  same  band  that  had  harried  the 
border  along  the  Solomon  River  and  massacred  the 
ranchmen  and  their  families.  It  was  expected  that  we 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  215 

would  hunt  these  people  down,  and  furthermore  it  was, 
in  my  opinion,  less  dangerous  to  go  on  now  and  attack 
them  than  it  would  be  to  turn  back.  At  any  rate,  I 
meant  to  fight  them,  and  I  did  not  believe  that  they 
could  annihilate  us  even  if  we  were  not  strong  enough  to 
whip  them.  The  men  quietly  fell  back,  and  as,  fortu- 
nately, there  were  many  old  soldiers  in  the  command, 
nothing  more  was  said  regarding  the  matter. 

Up  to  this  time  we  had  not  seen  an  Indian,  al- 
though I  was  well  satisfied  that  they  were  watching 
us.  Each  hour  that  we  advanced  the  trail  grew  hotter, 
and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  villages  were  not 
far  distant.  We  were  about  out  of  rations,  although  we 
had  plenty  of  salt  and  coffee,  but  large  game  had  not 
been  seen  within  twenty-four  hours,  good  evidence  that 
it  had  been  lately  hunted  away.  At  about  four  o'clock 
or  a  little  later  on  the  afternoon  of  September  16th  I 
decided  to  go  into  camp  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Re- 
publican River  at  a  point  where  the  grazing  was  fairly 
good. 

We  were  in  a  little  swale  or  valley  about  two  miles 
long  and  of  nearly  the  same  width.  On  our  side  (the 
south  side  of  the  stream)  it  sloped  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  lying  out  about  midway  in  the  bed  of  the 
stream,  say  sixty  yards  away  from  the  bank,  was  a 
small  island,  perhaps  sixty  or  seventy  yards  in  length 
and  from  fifteen  to  twenty  yards  in  width,  covered 
with  a  low  growth  of  bushes  with  a  single  small  tree 
that  shot  up  among  the  bushes  about  the  middle  of 
the  island.  It  formed  a  pretty  break  in  the  landscape, 
as  the  water  rippled  around  the  gravelly  head  of  the 
island  and  flowed  along  its  sides  at  an  average  width 
of  five  or  six  yards,  but  of  no  great  depth,  probably 


216  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

not  exceeding  a  foot  in  any  place.  The  river  "beds 
of  all  these  Western  mountain  streams  are  wide,  and 
in  the  months  of  May  and  June  they  run  bank  full, 
sweeping  majestically  along,  but  in  the  late  summer 
and  fall  they  dwindle  at  times  to  the  merest  thread  of 
running  water.  After  grazing  our  animals  until  dark, 
we  encamped  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  just  opposite 
the  little  island.  Every  possible  precaution  was  taken 
against  surprise;  the  horses  were  both  hobbled  as  well 
as  carefully  picketed  out,  and  instructions  were  given 
that  in  case  of  attack  each  man  should  grasp  his  horse's 
lariat  and  stand  with  rifle  in  hand  awaiting  orders.  A 
strong  guard  was  posted,  and,  although  it  was  an  unusu- 
ally cold  night  for  the  season  of  the  year,  most  of  the 
men  slept  well  and  soundly.  Naturally  anxious,  I  was 
up  and  paced  the  rounds  with  the  guard  more  than 
once. 

Just  at  the  first  flash  of  dawn,  as  I  was  standing 
near  the  outermost  sentry,  we  heard  the  thud  of  unshod 
horses'  feet,  and  a  few  seconds  later  between  us  and 
the  sky  line  we  caught  sight  of  the  waving  feathers  in 
the  war  bonnet  of  a  mounted  warrior  just  moving  over 
the  crest  of  a  rise  in  the  ground  a  little  way  above  us 
on  the  bank  of  the  stream.  As  we  raised  our  guns  to 
our  shoulders,  even  before  we  could  fire,  we  saw  him 
joined  by  several  others.  The  sharp  crack  of  our  rifles 
caused  the  men  to  spring  to  their  feet  and  instinctively 
grasp  their  horses'  lariats  almost  before  our  shout  of 
"  Indians!  Turn  out;  Indians!  "  could  reach  their  star- 
tled ears.  Running  backward  toward  the  camp,  only 
two  hundred  feet  away,  and  keeping  my  eyes  fixed  on 
the  small  war  party,  I  saw  at  once  that  their  intention 
was  to  stampede  our  horses,  for  they  dashed  forward 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  186&-'69.  217 

on  their  ponies,  rattling  dried  hides,  beating  Indian 
drums,  and  yelling  at  the  top  of  their  lungs.  It  was 
too  late  for  that,  however,  as  nearly  every  man  already 
had  his  horse's  lariat  wrapped  around  his  left  arm  and 
his  rifle  grasped  in  both  hands.  A  few  shots  sent  them 
whirling  back,  even  quicker  than  they  came,  and  the 
attempted  surprise  was  a  failure.  "  Saddle  up  and  stand 
to  horse ! "  was  the  order,  and  the  men  sprang  to  work 
with  an  energy  born  of  the  peril  that  confronted  them. 
Almost  as  quickly  as  I  can  pen  the  words  the  command 
was  equipped,  bridled  and  saddled,  and  standing  to 
horse  in  line,  each  man  with  his  bridle  thrown  over 
his  left  arm,  with  his  loaded  rifle  in  his  hands,  coolly 
awaiting  orders. 

It  was  light  enough  to  begin  to  dimly  discern  ob- 
jects within  two  or  three  hundred  yards  when  my 
chief  scout  Grover  placed  his  hand  on  my  shoulder 
and  said:  tf  0  heavens,  general,  look  at  the  Indians  I" 
Cadmus-like  they  appeared  to  spring  full  armed  from 
the  very  earth.  From  up  and  down  the  sandy  bed 
of  the  river,  from  across  the  stream  and  along  the 
opposite  bank,  from  the  rising  ground  back  of  us,  and 
above  and  below  us  on  our  side  of  the  river  they 
seemed  to  suddenly  start  into  view,  and  then,  even 
as  we  looked,  shouting  their  war  cries,  beating  their 
drums,  and  exultantly  chanting  their  death  song  they 
began  to  press  toward  us,  both  on  foot  and  on  horseback, 
firing  at  us  with  their  rifles  as  they  came  steadily  on. 
The  moment,  however,  that  they  were  well  within  rifle 
shot  a  few  sharp  volleys  from  the  scouts  were  sent  in 
among  them,  staggering  their  advance  for  the  nonce, 
and  causing  them  to  hastily  fall  back  out  of  range. 

There  was  but  one  course  for  us  to  take,  as  we  were 


218  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

surrounded  and  greatly  outnumbered:  I  ordered  my  men 
to  lead  their  horses  to  the  little  island  lying  out  in  the 
river  bed  in  our  immediate  front,  to  tie  them  in  a  cir- 
cle to  the  bushes  growing  there,  and  to  cover  themselves 
by  each  digging  a  rifle  pit,  and  then,  if  we  could  not 
beat  off  our  foe,  we  could  at  least  sell  our  lives  dearly. 
Placing  our  extra  boxes  of  ammunition,  now  very  pre- 
cious, on  four  of  the  saddles,  we  moved  on  foot  with  a 
solid  front  across  the  bed  of  the  stream  to  the  little 
island  opposite  us,  tied  our  horses  to  the  bushes  in  a 
circle,  and  then  dropping  quickly  to  the  ground  and 
partially  sheltered  by  their  horses,  two  men  working 
together,  with  their  butcher's  knives  and  tin  plates,  the 
whole  command  began  rapidly  to  cover  itself  by  a 
series  of  detached  rifle  pits,  all  facing  outward.  As  we 
made  this  move  some  of  our  best  shots  kept  up  a  fire 
from  our  flanks,  and  three  of  our  best  men  remained 
temporarily  in  the  long  grass  on  the  bank  of  the  river 
to  protect  the  north  end  of  the  island.  The  enemy 
had,  I  think  purposely,  left  the  way  down  the  river 
open,  but  I  realized  at  once  that  the  little  gorge  through 
which  we  had  debouched  into  the  valley  the  preceding 
day  would  be  lined  with  warriors  awaiting  any  attempt 
to  escape  that  way. 

Our  movement  to  the  island  was  unexpected,  and 
for  a  few  moments  seemed  to  puzzle  them,  but  as  soon 
as  they  began  to  comprehend  what  it  meant  they  were 
wild  with  rage.  Their  mounted  warriors  dashed  up 
and  down  and  urged  the  dismounted  riflemen  to  close 
in  on  us  at  once,  many  of  them  springing  from  their 
horses  and  coming  on  with  them  to  the  banks  of  the 
stream,  and  for  a  few  moments  they  poured  in  a 
heavy  fire  upon  us,  killing  and  wounding  several  of 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  219 

the  men.  By  this  time,  however,  our  men  were  al- 
ready partially  covered  by  their  little  rifle  pits,  while 
the  poor  horses,  who  were  being  shot  down  in  all 
directions,  and  who  tugged  and  strained  in  vain  at 
their  lariats,  gave  us  an  additional  protection,  and  the 
small  bushes  and  long  grass  helped  conceal  from  the 
enemy  exactly  where  our  men  lay. 

Just  at  this  crisis  one  of  the  men,  who  had  lost 
his  head,  shouted:  "Don't  let's  stay  here  and  be  shot 
down  like  dogs!  Will  any  one  try  for  the  opposite 
bank  with  me?"  "I  will,"  said  some  one  in  reply. 
Standing  in  the  midst  of  the  circle,  revolver  in  hand, 
I  told  them  I  would  shoot  down  the  first  man  who 
attempted  to  leave  the  island,  in  which  I  was  quickly 
backed  by  McCall.  "It's  our  only  chance,  men,  to 
stay  where  we  are,"  said  I.  Lieutenant  Beecher,  who 
was  aiming  as  carefully  and  firing  as  steadily  as  if 
at  target  practice,  suddenly  called  out,  "You  addle- 
headed  fools,  have  you  no  sense?"  and  so  the  crisis 
passed,  for  had  an  attempt  then  been  made  to  leave  the 
island  no  white  man  would  have  lived  to  record  the 
fight. 

For  the  next  twenty  minutes  my  sole  command  con- 
sisted in  urging  the  men  to  aim  carefully,  fire  low,  and 
not  to  fire  until  they  could  see  something  to  hit;  and  on 
no  account  to  waste  their  ammunition,  as  our  safety 
might  depend  upon  how  carefully  we  managed  to  hus- 
band it.  And  now  discipline  began  to  tell,  as  it  always 
does  in  the  end.  The  enemy  was  getting  the  worst  of 
it.  He  was  losing  men,  while,  being  fairly  well  covered, 
we  were  suffering  comparatively  little.  I  still  stood  up- 
right, walking  from  man  to  man,  but  from  every  side 
I  was  asked  to  lie  down.  Scarcely  had  I  done  so  when 


220  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

I  received  a  bullet  in  the  fore  part  of  my  right  thigh, 
ranging  upward.  It  remained  imbedded  in  the  flesh 
and  gave  me  more  intense  pain  than  much  more 
serious  wounds  I  had  previously  received,  and  for  a 
moment  or  two  I  could  scarcely  speak,  so  great  was  the 
agony.  Dr.  Mooers,  who  was  doing  yeoman  work  with 
his  rifle,  now  suggested  that  as  I  was  the  only  man  not 
covered  with  a  rifle  pit  that  his  pit  be  enlarged  to  cover 
both  of  us.  A  couple  of  men  went  at  once  to  his  assist- 
ance, but  while  they  were  energetically  working  at  it  I 
incautiously  threw  up  my  left  leg  as  I  leaned  over  to 
give  an  order  to  one  of  the  men,  and  a  bullet  smashed 
the  bone  midway  between  the  ankle  and  the  knee. 
Three  minutes  later  I  was  pulled  down  into  the  pit 
and  was  safely  under  cover. 

Riding  around,  just  outside  of  rifle  range  on  the 
opposite  bank  of  the  river,  were  several  hundred 
mounted  warriors,  evidently  under  command  of  a  gi- 
gantic chief,  who  seemed  exasperated  almost  to  frenzy 
at  the  blunder  the  Indians  had  made  in  allowing  us 
to  occupy  the  island  we  were  now  intrenched  upon. 
A  second  look,  and  I  concluded  whom  it  must  be, 
so  I  called  out  to  Grover,  "  Is  not  the  large  chief 
Roman  Nose?"  "None  other,"  was  the  reply;  "there 
is  not  such  another  Indian  on  the  plains."  "  Then 
these  are  the  Northern  Cheyennes?"  "Yes,  and 
the  Ogallalla  and  Brule  Sioux  and  the  Dog  soldiers. 
There  are  more  than  a  thousand  warriors  here."  I 
doubted  this,  and  told  Grover  so,  but  in  a  muttered 
reply  he  held  to  his  estimate.  I  could  not  bring  myself 
to  believe  that  there  were  so  many;  in  fact,  I  did  not 
wish  to  believe  it,  as  it  discouraged  the  men,  but  after- 
ward I  knew  that  he  was  nearly  right.  About  this 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OP  1868-'69.  221 

time  my  surgeon,  Dr.  Mooers,  was  hit  by  a  rifle  bullet 
in  the  forehead,  and  never  spoke  but  one  rational 
word,  although  he  lived  for  nearly  three  days  after 
receiving  the  wound.  A  few  moments  later,  while 
glancing  over  the  side  of  my  rifle  pit,  I  received  a  scalp 
wound,  but  my  felt  hat  being  doubled  down"  broke  the 
force  of  the  bullet,  and  it  glanced  off,  but  left  me  with 
a  splitting  headache,  and  although  the  scalp  was  scarce- 
ly cut  and  only  a  large  swelling  marked  the  spot,  six 
weeks  later  the  surgeon's  probe  discovered  a  loose  piece 
of  skull,  which  he  duly  removed. 

As  I  peered  over  my  rifle  pit  I  gradually  became 
aware  that  the  mounted  Indians  were  disappearing 
around  a  bend  in  the  stream  in  the  direction  from 
which  the  command  had  come  on  the  previous  day, 
and  I  again  heard,  for  the  second  or  third  time,  the 
musical  tone  of  an  artillery  bugle.  I  now  began  to 
think  it  possible  that  Eoman  Nose  had  some  rene- 
gade white  man  with  his  warriors,  especially  since  just 
as  our  last  horse  was  shot  down  some  one  shouted 
from  among  the  Indian  riflemen,  <e  There  goes  the  last 
damned  horse  anyhow! "  Turning  these  things  over 
in  my  mind,  it  occurred  to  me  that  possibly  Eoman 
Nose  might  be  forming  his  warriors  around  the  bend 
of  the  river  with  the  intention  of  charging  us,  shooting, 
and  trampling  us  to  death  as  he  rode  over  us.  I  called 
out  to  Lieutenant  Beecher  and  gave  him  my  opinion 
of  what  the  withdrawal  of  the  mounted  Indians  might 
possibly  mean.  Beecher,  McCall,  and  Grover  all  agreed 
with  me.  "  Then,  let  the  men  get  ready,"  was  the  order. 
In  a  few  moments  our  dispositions  were  made.  Each 
gun  was  loaded  to  its  capacity — one  shot  in  the  barrel, 
six  in  the  magazine — and  the  weapons  of  the  killed  and 


222  THE  STOKY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

badly  wounded  men  were  also  loaded  and  laid  close  at 
hand  ready  for  instant  use,  while  the  revolvers  were 
carefully  looked  to  and  loosened  in  their  holsters.  Or- 
ders were  given  for  the  men  to  lie  low,  so  as  not  to 
expose  themselves  unnecessarily  to  the  fire  of  the  In- 
dian riflemen,  who  were  besieging  us,  until  such  time 
as  the  word  should  be  given;  then  to  turn  in  their  pits, 
facing  the  charge,  and  fire  at  the  word. 

In  a  few  moments  after  our  preparations  were  com- 
pleted Eoman  Nose  and  his  warriors  swept  around  the 
bend  of  the  stream,  out  of  and  well  beyond  rifle  range, 
with  a  front  of  about  sixty  men  and  a  depth  of  six  or 
eight  ranks.  Each  warrior  was,  with  the  exception  of  his 
cartridge  belt  and  box  and  moccasins,  perfectly  naked 
and  hideously  painted.  They  rode  barebacked  with  only 
a  horse-hair  lariat  wrapped  twice  around  the  middle  of 
their  horses  and  passing  loosely  over  each  knee;  their 
hair  was  braided  and  their  scalp  locks  ornamented  with 
feathers  or  else  their  heads  were  covered  with  war 
bonnets,  and  they  guided  their  animals  with  the  bridle 
reins  in  their  left  hands,  while  their  rifles  were  held 
squarely  across  the  front  of  their  bodies,  but  resting 
lightly  on  the  necks  of  their  horses. 

As  they  rode  into  view  they  halted  for  a  moment 
and  Eoman  Nose  turned  and  addressed  them,  waving 
his  right  hand  toward  us  in  an  impassioned  manner. 
The  hills  or  rising  ground  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
river  just  beyond  him  were  completely  covered  with 
women  and  children  anxiously  watching  the  fight,  and 
from  his  gestures  he  must  have  alluded  to  them  in 
his  speech.  Then  turning  squarely  toward  where  we 
lay,  he  shook  his  clinched  fist  at  us  and  evidently  gave 
the  word  of  command,  for  breaking  first  into  a  trot 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  223 

and  then  into  a  gallop,  but  always  keeping  a  splendid 
alignment,  the  massive  band  of  Indian  warriors  bore 
swiftly  down  upon  us. 

Biding  well  in  front  of  the  centre  of  his  line  Koman 
Nose  led  the  charge  with  a  reckless  gallantry  that  may 
have  been  equalled,  but  could  not  have  been  excelled. 
Six  feet  three  inches  in  height,  and  perfectly  naked  save 
for  a  superb  war  bonnet  on  his  head,  a  crimson  silk  sash 
around  his  waist,  and  his  moccasins  on  his  feet,  showing 
immense  breadth  of  shoulder,  but  nevertheless  sinewy 
and  slim  both  in  waist  and  flank,  he  sat  well  forward 
on  his  barebacked  chestnut-coloured  charger,  with  his 
knees  under  the  lariat  that  twice  encircled  his  horse's 
body  and  his  rifle  held  just  below  the  trigger  in  his 
left  hand,  its  barrel  in  the  hollow  of  his  arm,  while  the 
same  hand  grasped  both  his  horse's  mane  and  bridle, 
leaving  his  right  arm  free  to  direct  his  men,  and  as  he 
came  charging  on  at  the  head  of  his  command  he  was 
the  very  beau  ideal  of  an  Indian  chief.  Waving  his 
hand  with  a  royal  gesture  to  the  women  and  children 
on  the  bluffs,  who  broke  into  a  wildly  exultant  cry  as 
the  horsemen  started,  he  turned  slightly  and  directly 
faced  us,  and  then,  throwing  back  his  head  and  glancing 
skyward,  he  struck  the  palm  of  his  hand  across  his 
mouth  and  gave  tongue  to  a  blood-curdling  war  cry 
I  have  never  yet  heard  equalled,  which  was  instantly 
caught  up  and  echoed  by  his  own  band,  the  Indian 
riflemen,  and  the  women  and  children  over  beyond  the 
river's  northern  bank. 

As  soon  as  the  charging  warriors  had  fairly  started 
toward  us,  our  immediate  assailants,  who  lay  under 
cover  on  the  two  banks  of  the  river  opposite  the  island, 
opened  a  rapid  fire  on  us  from  both  sides,  with  the 


224:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

intention  of  covering  us  to  such  an  extent  that  we 
would  not  dare  rise  from  our  rifle  pits  to  open  fire 
upon  the  attacking  force,  and  so  for  a  few  seconds 
bullets  fell  everywhere  around  us.  This  I  had  looked 
for,  but  I  well  knew  that  once  the  charging  Indians 
came  within  range  of  the  bullets  of  their  own  men  their 
fire  must  necessarily  cease.  Glancing  back  over  my 
command,  I  saw  that  they  had  all  turned  in  their 
rifle  pits  toward  the  foot  of  the  island,  the  direction 
from  which  the  charge  was  coming,  and,  crouching 
low,  with  their  knees  well  under  them,  their  rifles  close- 
ly gripped  in  their  sinewy  hands,  their  bronzed  faces 
set  like  iron,  and  their  eyes  fairly  ablaze  with  wrath, 
they  lay  with  nostrils  all  a-quiver,  impatiently  awaiting 
the  command  to  fire. 

Suddenly  the  fire  from  the  Indian  riflemen  ceased, 
and,  placing  my  back  against  my  rifle  pit  and  leaning 
on  my  elbows  against  its  sides,  I  shouted,  "  Now! "  and 
Beecher,  McCall,  and  Grover  echoed  the  cry. 

Instantly  starting  to  their  knees,  with  their  rifles 
at  shoulder  as  they  rose,  and  with  one  quick  glance 
along  the  barrel,  forty  good  men  and  true  sent  the  first 
of  seven  successive  crashing  volleys  into  the  on-rushing 
savage  horde.  Welcoming  the  first  and  second  volleys 
with  a  reckless  yell,  the  charging  warriors  came  gallant- 
ly on,  but  at  the  third  the  most  of  them  ceased  to  shout, 
and  I  could  see  great  gaps  in  their  ranks  and  men  and 
horses  going  down,  but  still  the  mass  of  them  bravely 
held  their  course,  Eoman  Nose  leading  them  and  wildly 
waving  his  heavy  Springfield  rifle  over  his  head  as 
though  it  were  a  wisp  of  straw,  he  alone  still  shouting 
his  defiant  war  cry  as  he  swept  toward  us.  At  the 
fourth  volley  their  great  medicine  man,  who  was  lead- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OP  1868-'69.  225 

ing  the  left  of  the  column,  went  suddenly  down,  and 
for  an  instant  the  column  seemed  to  check  its  speed, 
but  only  for  a  second,  and  then  with  a  mad  rush  it  came 
bounding  and  leaping  onward.  The  fifth  volley  seemed 
to  pile  men  and  horses  in  heaps,  and  at  the  sixth  Eoman 
Nose  and  his  horse  went  down  in  death  together.  A 
hundred  feet  farther,  and  they  will  be  upon  us!  But 
now  the  column  hesitates  and  shakes,  and  the  scouts 
pour  in  their  last  and  seventh  volley  just  as  a  few  of  the 
warriors  reach  the  foot  of  our  little  island,  and  then, 
springing  quickly  to  their  feet,  with  wild  cheers  and 
imprecations  on  their  foes,  the  frontiersmen  suddenly 
pour  almost  into  the  very  faces  of  the  mounted  war- 
riors a  rapid  fire  from  their  revolvers;  while  the  Indian 
column  suddenly  divides  on  each  side  of  the  island  and 
breaks  in  all  directions  for  the  shelter  of  either  shore, 
the  now  completely  defeated  and  panic-stricken  savages, 
cowering  to  their  horses'  backs,  fearfully  demoralized, 
and  seeking  only  safety  in  eager  and  headlong  flight. 

"  Down,  men,  lie  down!  "  I  fairly  shriek.  "  Down  on 
your  lives!  "  shouts  McCall,  and  the  men,  hot  and  pant- 
ing, throw  themselves  flat  to  the  bottom  of  the  rifle 
pits  just  in  time  to  escape  a  scorching  volley  from  the 
Indian  riflemen  who  have  been  awaiting  their  oppor- 
tunity and  are  almost  wild  with  rage  at  the  death  of 
Roman  Nose  and  the  outcome  of  his  desperate  charge. 
Turning  toward  Grover,  I  called  out,  "  Can  they  do  bet- 
ter than  that,  Grover?  "  "  Man  and  boy,  I  have  been 
on  the  plains  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  I  never 
saw  anything  like  that  before.  I  think  they  have  done 
their  level  best,"  was  his  reply. 

"All  right,"  was  my  response,  "we  are  good  for 
them,"  and  I  decided  then  and  there  that  the  staying 


226  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

powers  of  the  two  combatants  would  decide  the  issue. 
Just  then  Lieutenant  Beecher  rose  from  his  rifle  pit 
and,  staggering  and  leaning  on  his  rifle,  half  dragged 
himself  to  where  I  lay,  and  then  calmly  lying  down  by 
my  side,  laid  his  face  downward  on  his  arm  and  said, 
quietly  and  simply:  "  I  have  my  death  wound,  general. 
I  am  shot  in  the  side  and  dying." 

"  Oh,  no,  Beecher,  no.    It  can't  be  as  bad  as  that." 

"Yes.  Good  night,"  and  he  sank  into  semiuncon- 
sciousness  almost  immediately.  I  heard  him  murmur 
once,  "  My  poor  mother! "  but  he  soon  became  slightly 
delirious,  and  at  sunset  his  life  went  out. 

Good  night,  good  knight! 

And  now  came  a  lull  in  the  battle.  While  the  very 
air  was  resonant  with  the  moans  and  shrieks  of  the 
women  and  children  in  the  hills  who  had  witnessed  the 
failure  of  Eoman  Nose's  attack,  and  could  see  the  dead 
bodies  of  their  husbands,  brothers,  and  sons  dotting  the 
sand  of  the  river's  bed  along  the  route  of  his  desperate 
charge,  the  Indians  in  ambush  continued  to  fire  at  us 
now  and  then,  but  we  were  well  covered  by  our  rifle  pits 
and  no  harm  came  to  us  from  that  source.  About  two 
o'clock  they  essayed  a  second  charge  under  new  leaders, 
but  it  was  delivered  weakly  in  comparison  with  the  first, 
for  they  broke  and  ran  with  a  small  loss  before  they 
came  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  island,  and  no  one 
of  our  force  was  injured  in  the  slightest  degree. 

About  six  o'clock,  however,  they  formed  back  in  the 
same  bend  or  canon  from  which  Eoman  Nose  had  come, 
and  with  a  wild  rush  came  on  en  masse  in  a  perfect 
frenzy,  shouting  their  war  cries  and  firing  from  their 
horses'  backs  as  they  came.  But  in  the  meantime  the 
scouts  had  deepened  their  rifle  pits  and  strengthened 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  227 

and  repaired  the  little  earthworks,  so  that  they  were 
perfectly  protected  from  the  Indian  riflemen,  and  be- 
sides they  had  developed  perfect  confidence  in  them- 
selves, so  they  coolly  and  deliberately  picked  out  their 
men  and  dropped  many  of  them  as  soon  as  they  came 
well  within  range.  It  was  death  to  advance,  and  the 
Indians  soon  recognised  the  fact,  so  the  whole  com- 
mand broke  suddenly  and  fled  just  before  reaching  the 
foot  of  the  island.  It  was,  as  I  felt  it  would  be,  their 
last  attempt  at  a  charge.  When  night  came  it  began  to 
rain,  and  as  the  day  had  been  intensely  hot  it  was  most 
welcome. 

Out  of  fifty-one  men,  including  myself,  the  list  of 
casualties  was  as  follows:  Lieutenant  Beecher,  Surgeon 
Mooers,  and  scouts  Chalmers,  Smith,  and  Wilson  were 
dead  or  dying;  scouts  Louis  Farley  and  Bernard  Day 
were  mortally  wounded;  scouts  O'Donnell,  Davis, 
Tucker,  Gantt,  Clarke,  Armstrong,  Morton,  and  Violett 
severely,  and  scouts  Harrington,  Davenport,  Haley,  Mc- 
Laughlin,  Hudson  Farley,  McCall,  and  two  others 
slightly  wounded.  As  for  myself,  with  a  bullet  in  my 
right  thigh,  my  left  leg  broken  below  the  knee,  and  a 
painful  scalp  wound,  I  had  all  I  could  do  to  force  myself 
carefully  to  think  out  the  best  course  to  pursue  under 
existing  circumstances. 

Orders  were  issued  to  unsaddle  the  dead  horses, 
use  the  saddles  to  strengthen  our  works,  to  completely 
connect  the  rifle  pits  and  deepen  them  still  more,  and 
to  cut  off  large  steaks  from  the  dead  horses  and  mules 
and  bury  them  deep  in  the  sand  to  avoid  putrefaction. 
I  then  selected  two  men,  Trudeau,  an  old  trapper,  and 
Jack  Stillwell,  a  beardless  young  lad,  but  most  intelli- 
gent and  trustworthy  (since  a  well-known  frontier 


228  THE  STOEY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

scout),  gave  them  my  only  map,  and  told  them  to  try 
and  steal  through  the  enemy's  lines  to  Fort  Wallace, 
about,  as  I  estimated,  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  dis- 
tant, and  to  give  to  the  commanding  officer  there,  Colo- 
nel Bankhead,  an  account  of  our  condition  and  to 
guide  him  to  where  we  lay,  as  I  well  knew  he  would 
unhesitatingly  come  to  our  assistance.  At  midnight 
they  took  off  their  boots,  hung  them  about  their  necks, 
and,  walking  backward  so  that  the  impression  left  by 
their  stocking  feet  might  seem  to  be  Indian  moccasins 
pointing  our  way,  stole  quietly  out  through  the  dark- 
ness and  disappeared.  I  may  as  well  state  here  that 
after  four  days  and  nights  of  perilous  adventure  they 
reached  the  post  in  safety,  but,  as  I  shall  hereafter 
show,  they  were  an  hour  or  two  late  with  their  infor- 
mation. 

Having  made  the  wounded  as  comfortable  as  pos- 
sible with  water  dressings,  one  of  the  command  hav- 
ing dug  down  to  water  in  his  rifle  pit,  and  a  strong 
guard  having  been  posted,  I  ate  a  few  mouthfuls  of 
raw  horseflesh  and  dozed  away  until  morning.  The 
Indians,  evidently  believing  that  we  would  try  to  escape 
in  the  night,  approached  at  early  daylight  to  take  up 
our  trail.  Owing  to  some  one  accidentally  discharging 
his  rifle  they  threw  themselves  flat  on  the  ground,  and 
we  only  succeeded  in  killing  one  of  them.  This  next 
day  was  very  hot,  and  we  that  were  wounded  suffered 
intensely.  There  was  some  fighting  now  and  then,  but 
our  besiegers  kept  their  distance  when  they  ascertained 
that  they  could  not  advance  under  cover  of  a  white 
flag. 

During  all  this  time  I  noticed  that  there  was 
a  steady  beating  of  drums  and  death  chants  among  the 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  229 

women  in  the  main  camp  of  the  savages.  It  was  a 
weary  enough  day,  for  we  were  out  of  food  save  horse 
and  mule  meat,  which  we  had  to  eat  without  cooking, 
but  fortunately  we  had  plenty  of  good  water.  At 
eleven  o'clock  at  night  I  sent  out  two  more  men  to  try 
for  Fort  Wallace,  but  every  outlet  was  guarded,  and 
they  returned  at  three  o'clock  the  next  morning.  The 
third  day  was  fortunately  cloudy.  Our  besiegers  kept 
up  a  desultory  firing  now  and  then,  but  it  did  us  no 
harm.  At  noon  Scout  Grover  informed  me  that  the 
Indian  women  and  children  were  beginning  to  with- 
draw, and  I  concluded  at  once  that  the  Indians  had 
decided  to  give  up  the  fight.  Accordingly,  I  took  my 
memorandum  book  and  pencilled  the  following  de- 
spatch: 

"  ON  DELAWARE  CREEK,  REPUBLICAN  RIVER, 

"  September  19, 1868. 
"  To  Colonel  Bankhead,  or  Commanding  Officer,  Fort  Wallace  : 

"  I  sent  you  two  messengers  on  the  night  of  the 
17th  instant,  informing  you  of  my  critical  condition. 
I  tried  to  send  two  more  last  night,  but  they  did  not 
succeed  in  passing  the  Indian  pickets,  and  returned. 
If  the  others  have  not  arrived,  then  hasten  at  once  to 
my  assistance.  I  have  eight  badly  wounded  and  ten 
slightly  wounded  men  to  take  in,  and  every  animal  I 
had  was  killed,  save  seven,  which  the  Indians  stam- 
peded. Lieutenant  Beecher  is  dead,  and  Acting-As- 
sistant-Surgeon Mooers  probably  can  not  live  the  night 
out.  He  was  hit  in  the  head  Thursday,  and  has  spoken 
but  one  rational  word  since.  I  am  wounded  in  two 
places — in  the  right  thigh  and  my  left  leg  broken  below 
the  knee.  The  Cheyennes  alone  number  four  hundred 
and  fifty  or  more.  Mr.  Grover  says  they  never  fought 
so  before.  They  were  splendidly  armed  with  Spencer 
and  Henry  rifles.  "We  killed  at  least  thirty-five  of  them, 
1G 


230  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  wounded  many  more,  besides  killing  and  wounding 
a  quantity  of  their  stock.  They  carried  off  most  of  their 
killed  during  the  night,  but  three  of  their  men  fell  into 
our  hands.  I  am  on  a  little  island,  and  have  still  plenty 
of  ammunition  left.  We  are  living  on  mule  and  horse 
meat,  and  are  entirely  out  of  rations.  If  it  was  not  for 
so  many  wounded,  I  would  come  in,  and  take  the 
chances  of  whipping  them  if  attacked.  They  are  evi- 
dently sick  of  their  bargain. 

"  I  had  two  of  the  members  of  my  company  killed 
on  the  17th — namely,  William  Wilson  and  George  W. 
Chalmers.  You  had  better  start  with  not  less  than 
seventy-five  men,  and  bring  all  the  wagons  and  ambu- 
lances you  can  spare.  Bring  a  six-pound  howitzer  with 
you.  I  can  hold  out  here  for  six  days  longer  if  abso- 
lutely necessary,  but  please  lose  no  time. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  GEORGE  A.  FORSYTH, 
"  U.  S.  Army,  Commanding  Company  Scouts. 

"  P.  S. — My  surgeon  having  been  mortally  wounded, 
none  of  my  wounded  have  had  their  wounds  dressed  yet, 
so  please  bring  out  a  surgeon  with  you." 

I  confided  this  to  two  excellent  men,  Donovan  and 
Pliley.  They  left  our  intrenchments  at  midnight,  and 
as  they  did  not  return  I  was  hopeful  that  they  had  es- 
caped the  vigilance  of  the  Indian  sentries  and  were 
on  their  way  to  Fort  Wallace.  It  was  these  two  men, 
who  fell  in  with  Colonel  L.  H.  Carpenter's  command 
two  days  later,  that  gave  the  first  intimation  of  our 
plight  to  department  headquarters. 

The  wound  in  my  thigh  having  become  exceed- 
ingly painful,  I  asked  some  of  the  men  to  cut  the 
bullet  out,  but  as  it  lay  very  near  the  femoral  artery 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  231 

they  all  declined  to  attempt  it.  Taking  my  razor, 
which  happened  to  be  in  my  saddle  bags,  and  getting 
two  of  the  men  to  press  the  flesh  tautly  back,  I  man- 
aged to  cut  it  out  myself,  greatly  to  my  almost  im- 
mediate relief.  On  the  fourth  day  our  horse  and 
mule  meat  became  putrid,  but  one  of  the  men  shot  a 
little  gray  coyote  wolf  that  helped  out  somewhat.  It 
was  weary  work  waiting,  and  on  the  fifth  day  the  Indi- 
ans began  to  withdraw.  I  had  the  men  raise  me  up  on 
a  blanket  to  get  a  better  view  of  affairs,  and  suddenly 
the  Indians  sent  in  a  fusillade  of  about  twenty  shots. 
The  man  who  held  the  corner  of  the  blanket  upon  which 
rested  my  broken  leg  dropped  -it,  causing  the  bone  to 
part  and  protrude  through  the  flesh,  much  to  my  sav- 
agely expressed  wrath. 

On  the  sixth  day  I  called  the  well  men  together 
and  told  them  that  as  there  was  no  certainty  that 
our  messengers  could  get  through  they  were  entitled  to 
a  chance  for  their  lives.  I  believed  that  most  of  our 
enemies  had  withdrawn,  and  as  they  were  well  armed 
I  doubted  if  any  ordinary  body  of  Indians  would  dare 
attack  them  on  their  way  to  Fort  Wallace.  As  for 
us  wounded  men,  we  must  take  our  chances  if  at- 
tacked. For  a  few  moments  there  was  a  dead  silence, 
and  then  rose  a  hoarse  shout  of:  "Never!  never!  We'll 
stand  by  you,  general,  until  the  end";  McCall  saying, 
"  We've  fought  together,  and,  by  heavens,  if  need  be, 
we'll  die  together." 

The  next  two  days — the  Indians  only  keeping  a 
vedette  in  sight,  and  most  of  them  having  disap- 
peared— seemed  to  me  to  be  almost  interminable. 
We  all  became  weaker  for  want  of  food,  but  as  we 
had  an  abundance  of  water  and  were  lying  still,  we 


232  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

did  not  suffer  very  much.  On  the  morning  of  the 
ninth  day  one  of  the  men  lying  near  me  suddenly 
sprang  up,  and,  shading  his  hand  with  his  eyes,  shouted, 
"There  are  some  moving  objects  on  the  far  hills!" 
Every  well  man  was  on  his  feet  in  an  instant,  and  then 
some  keen-eyed  scout  shouted,  "  By  the  God  above  us, 
it's  an  ambulance ! "  The  strain  was  over.  It  was  Col- 
onel Carpenter  with  a  troop  of  the  Tenth  Cavalry. 

I  hope  the  reader  will  pardon  me  if  I  have  been  pro- 
lix, but  this  was  my  own  part  in  the  Sioux  campaign  of 
1868.  From  that  time  until  its  close  I  watched  it 
through  the  despatches  sent  in  from  the  front.  In  this 
fight  the  Indians  afterward  admitted  a  loss  of  seventy- 
five  killed  and  many  wounded,  and  a  fighting  force  of 
nine  hundred  and  seventy  warriors. 


CHAPTEE   X. 

A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  sioux  CAMPAIGN  OF    1868 
AND    1869. 

THE  suffering  of  the  men  who  marched  to  the  res- 
cue of  the  beleaguered  troops  at  Fort  Phil  Kearny 
during  the  winter  months  of  1866  and  1867  was  almost 
unbearable.  Campaigning  in  the  teeth  of  a  blizzard 
and  struggling  along  in  a  blinding  swirl  of  snow,  with 
the  thermometer  ranging  from  ten  to  thirty  degrees 
below  zero,  tests  the  individual  strength  of  soldiers  to 
the  very  verge  of  human  endurance,  and  the  begin- 
ning of  winter  had  heretofore  meant  the  close  of  mili- 
tary campaigning  against  the  Indians  on  the  great 
plains. 

No  one  knew  this  fact  better  than  the  Indians 
themselves,  and  as  soon  as  November's  snow  covered 
the  grass  they  always  left  the  war  path  and  proceeded 
to  snugly  ensconce  themselves  in  comfortable  shape 
by  selecting  a  sheltered  site  on  the  wooded  bank  of 
some  large  stream  far  away  from  the  outermost  limits 
of  even  the  most  advanced  line  of  frontier  settlements. 
Here  they  established  their  camp  in  permanent  winter 
quarters,  to  which,  in  due  time,  their  scouting  parties 
brought  their  supplies  of  dried  buffalo,  deer,  and  other 
meats,  which  had  been  put  up  by  the  squaws  at  various 

233 


234  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

periods  during  the  preceding  summer,  and  securely  hid- 
den or  cached  against  this  time  of  need,  for  the  vast 
herds  of  buffalo  upon  which  they  relied  for  food  always 
migrated  as  soon  as  the  grass  was  snow  capped,  seek- 
ing pasture  in  the  South  or  up  among  the  wooded  foot- 
hills of  the  Eocky  Mountains.  Neither  had  they  any 
longer  forage  for  their  ponies,  who  were  herded  under 
guard  of  the  half-grown  boys  and  women  along  the 
bottom  lands  of  the  river  upon  which  their  camp  was 
located,  and  became  thin  and  weak  upon  such  gama 
grass  as  they  could  get  by  scraping  away  the  snow  with 
their  hoofs  or  filled  their  gnawing  stomachs  with  the 
summer's  growth  of  swamp  willow  shoots,  which  grew 
on  the  bushes  that  lined  the  banks  of  the  stream. 

They  had  no  fear  of  other  hostile  tribes,  for  they 
well  knew  that  they  too  would  abandon  the  war  path 
during  the  winter,  and  as  for  the  white  man,  they  felt 
that  where  they  could  not  overcome  the  rigours  of  the 
climate  it  would  be  in  vain  for  him  to  attempt  to  do  so; 
moreover,  all  experience  in  former  wars  had  shown  that 
with  the  advent  of  winter  the  soldiers  were  withdrawn 
to  the  shelter  of  the  permanent  posts  until  the  following 
spring.  So,  with  their  tepees  strongly  pitched  against 
the  strength  of  the  winter  winds,  banked  up  with  earth, 
and  doubly  covered  with  Indian-tanned  buffalo  hides, 
the  red-handed  warriors,  who  had  so  successfully  har- 
ried the  Western  frontier,  killed  the  men  of  its  isolated 
settlements,  outraged  their  women,  and  then  merci- 
lessly butchered  them  an$  their  little  children,  made 
their  camp  warm  and  comfortable,  and  quietly  sat  down 
in  fancied  security  and  savage  idleness  and  proceeded 
to  leisurely  while  away  the  winter  in  card  playing, 
feasting,  dancing,  and  boasting  against  the  next 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  235 

spring's  campaign;  while  far  away  along  the  line  of 
the  scattered  frontier  the  white  snow  fell  silently  and, 
blown  by  the  prairie  winds,  drifted  against  and  finally 
covered,  as  with  a  white  pall,  the  half-burned  logs  that 
marked  the  site  of  the  once  happy  home  of  the  dead 
frontiersman  and  his  family. 

The  close  of  the  summer's  campaign  of  1868  against 
the  Indians  on  the  Western  plains,  while  it  had  resulted 
in  some  losses  to  the  savages,  had  not  done  them  enough 
harm  to  take  the  fight  out  of  them  or  convince  them 
that  the  Government  was  strong  enough  to  effectually 
punish  them  for  their  attacks  on  the  frontier  settle- 
ments. On  the  contrary,  abandoning  the  Powder  River 
country,  together  with  the  evacuation  of  Forts  Reno, 
Phil  Kearny,  and  C.  F.  Smith  at  their  arrogant  demand, 
which  posts  they  promptly  burned  as  soon  as  the  troops 
were  withdrawn,  had  made  them  confident  in  their  own 
strength  and  buoyed  them  up  with  the  idea  that  the 
Government  feared  them,  for  the  wild  Indian,  from  the 
very  nature  of  his  training,  can  not  comprehend  that 
anything  once  in  the  possession  of  another  should  ever 
be  given  up  save  and  only  through  fear. 

General  Sheridan,  however,  had  already  determined 
upon  a  winter  campaign,  but  he  alone  was  confident  of 
its  ultimate  success,  and  accordingly  he  at  once  sternly 
set  about  its  execution,  despite  predictions  of  its  failure 
by  old  frontiersmen  as  well  as  some  of  his  subordinates, 
who  in  age  and  length  of  service  were  much  older  sol- 
diers than  he  was,  even  if  of  much  less  exalted  rank  in 
the  army.  Up  to  this  time  a  winter's  campaign  on  the 
great  plains  was  an  unheard  of  proceeding,  and  was  re- 
garded as  an  impossibility,  but,  never  doubting  or  hesi- 
tating, the  general  threw  himself  into  its  execution  with 


236  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

all  his  accustomed  energy  and  thoroughness  of  detail. 
He  ordered  the  establishment  of  a  supply  depot  at 
Monument  Creek,  in  southern  Kansas,  from  which  a 
force  of  six  hundred  infantry  was  to  operate  along  the 
hanks  of  the  main  Canadian  Eiver.  A  second  supply 
depot  was  made  near  the  head  waters  of  the  North  Ca- 
nadian River,  from  which  five  troops  of  cavalry  were 
to  operate  southward  toward  Antelope  Hills.  These 
two  commands  were  to  keep  scouting,  constantly  mov- 
ing over  a  certain  designated  section  of  country,  so  as 
to  hunt  out  any  detached  bands  of  Indians  that  might 
be  wintering  in  their  vicinity.  The  third  and  main 
winter  supply  depot  was  located  near  the  junction  of 
Beaver  Creek  and  the  North  Candian  River  in  Indian 
Territory,  rather  more  than  one  hundred  miles  south 
of  Fort  Dodge,  and  was  known  as  Camp  Supply. 

The  troops  at  this  cantonment  were  eleven  troops  of 
the  Seventh  United  States  Cavalry,  four  companies  of 
infantry,  and  the  Nineteenth  Kansas  Cavalry,  a  newly 
recruited  regiment  of  volunteers  for  Indian  service. 
Early  in  November  General  Sheridan  took  up  his  field 
headquarters  at  this  point  that  the  winter's  operation? 
in  the  field  might  be  almost  under  his  personal  super- 
vision. The  Seventh  United  States  Cavalry  had  been 
organized  at  the  close  of  the  civil  -war.  Its  officers  were 
men  who  had  seen  much  service  in  the  South,  and  most 
of  its  enlisted  men  were  old  soldiers  who  had  served  in 
various  volunteer  regiments  from  1861  to  1865.  Its 
lieutenant  colonel,  and  commanding  officer  in  the  field, 
was  General  George  A.  Custer,  one  of  the  youngest, 
most  dashing,  and  capable  of  our  cavalry  generals  dur- 
ing the  civil  war,  and  with  a  well-deserved  reputation 
for  great  personal  gallantry  and  untiring  energy.  On 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  237 

the  evening  of  November  22d  he  was  ordered  to  take 
the  field  on  the  following  day  and  find  and  attack  the 
Indians  in  their  winter  camps,  presumably  somewhere 
along  the  Washita  River. 

At  four  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  No- 
vember reveille  aroused  the  sleeping  troopers  from 
their  little  dog  tents  to  roll  call.  It  was  too  dark  to  see, 
but  they  realized  that  the  snow  was  a  foot  in  depth, 
the  thermometer  below  zero,  and  a  blinding  blizzard 
of  a  snowstorm  raging  apparently  in  all  directions.  Be- 
yond feeding  their  shivering  horses,  which  were  tied 
to  a  picket  rope  in  the  open,  and  brushing  the  snow 
from  their  backs,  stable  call  was  a  farce,  breakfast  at 
5  A.  M.  standing  in  the  snow  around  a  camp  fire  was 
not  much  better,  though  a  cup  or  two  of  hot  coffee  was 
relished  most  decidedly.  The  trumpet  call  of  "  the 
general "  set  every  one  to  work  taking  down  and  pack- 
ing the  tents,  and  just  before  daylight  "  Boots  and  sad- 
dles" told  the  half-frozen  men  that  they  were  in  for 
the  winter's  campaign.  Saddling  was  shortly  over. 
"  To  horse  "  and  "  Mount "  quickly  followed,  and  the 
regiment  moved  out  in  column  of  twos,  preceded  by 
the  scouts  and  Indian  guides,  but  so  dense  was  the 
snowstorm  that  the  Indian  guides  confessed  their  in- 
ability to  find  the  way  to  Wolf  Creek,  fifteen  miles  dis- 
tant, which  was  to  be  the  first  night's  camping  ground. 
In  fact,  it  was  not  possible  to  see  anything  twenty  yards 
away  from  the  column,  so  General  Ouster  took  out  his 
map,  and  the  command  found  their  way  through  the 
storm  to  Wolf  Creek  solely  by  aid  of  the  compass. 

How  the  heavily  laden  little  wagon  train  of  supplies 
managed  to  get  through  to  the  camp  was  almost  incom- 
prehensible to  the  whole  command,  but  the  frontier 


238  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

"  bull  whacker  "  develops  into  a  marvellous  mule  driver, 
and  the  Government  mule,  when  compelled  to  do  so,  can 
climb  up  a  hill  or  slide  down  it,  like  a  goat,  and  pull  a 
heavily  loaded  wagon  after  him,  squirm  out  of  its  way 
when  it  comes  thundering  down  upon  him,  and  never 
get  out  of  harness  either.  But  reaching  camp  was 
a  great  deal  owing  to  the  escort  to  the  wagon  train, 
which  was  one  of  the  troops  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry, 
that  did  yeoman  work  that  winter's  day,  by  the  aid  of 
long  coils  of  rope  and  their  lariats,  in  fairly  lifting  the 
train  of  wagons  up,  down,  and  over  the  hills,  rocks,  and 
ravines  that  lay  in  its  road  to  camp.  The  24th  was 
little  better,  though  the  storm  abated  somewhat  as  the 
command  continued  its  march  up  the  valley  of  Wolf 
Creek,  but  the  thermometer  registered  seven  degrees 
below  zero  and  the  snow  was  eighteen  inches  deep  on 
the  level.  Of  the  march  on  the  25th  General  Custer 
writes:  "  Our  route  still  kept  up  the  valley  of  Wolf 
Creek.  Nothing  was  particularly  worthy  of  notice  ex- 
cept the  immense  quantities  of  game  seeking  shelter 
from  the  storm  offered  by  the  little  strip  of  timber  ex- 
tending along  the  valley  of  Wolf  Creek  and  its  tribu- 
taries. Even  the  buffaloes  with  their  huge  shaggy  coats 
huddled  together  in  the  timber,  so  drowsy  or  benumbed 
from  the  effects  of  the  cold  as  not  to  discover  our  ap- 
proach, fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  Indian  scouts  and  the 
marching  column,  and  a  *  bountiful  supply  of  fresh 
meat  was  laid  in.' 9i 

That  night  the  command  again  encamped  in  the 
valley,  but  the  weather  was  bitter  cold,  and  as  they 
stood  in  the  snow  around  their  little  camp  fires,  for 
fuel  at  this  point  was  scarce,  and  ate  their  supper  of 
smoky  and  half-roasted  buffalo  meat,  bacon,  hardtack, 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  239 

and  coffee,  it  was  not  strange  that  their  thoughts  flew 
far  afield  to  other  days  and  other  scenes,  for  it  was 
Thanksgiving  eve,  and  memory  did  not  fail  to  bring 
back  to  most  of  them  cheerful  hearthstones  and  ample 
but  dainty  tables,  groaning  beneath  the  choicest 
viands,  surrounded  by  bright  and  joyous  faces,  instinct 
with  good  cheer,  content,  and  happiness;  and  so  even 
the  best  and  most  enthusiastic  soldier  among  them  was 
a  bit  more  quiet  than  usual,  as  he  smoked  his  pipe  and 
thought  of  the  far-away  loved  ones  ere  he  wrapped  his 
blanket  about  him  and,  crawling  into  his  little  dog  tent, 
lay  down  to  sleep  on  the  frozen  earth,  from  which  he 
had  managed  in  some  manner  to  sweep  away  most  of  the 
snow  with  which  it  had  been  covered.  The  next  night 
the  command  encamped  near  the  mouth  of  a  little 
stream  that  emptied  into  the  Canadian  Kiver  a  mile 
or  so  farther  on.  Wood  was  plenty  and  the  camp  was 
an  unusually  good  one.  General  Ouster  decided  to 
move  his  command  across  the  Canadian  River  the  next 
day,  but  determined  to  send  Major  Elliott  with  three 
full  troops  of  the  regiment  on  a  scout  fifteen  miles  up 
the  valley  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river  in  search  of 
any  recent  Indian  trail  made  since  the  snow  had  fallen 
by  any  belated  war  party  that  might  give  him  a  clew  to 
the  probable  location  of  the  winter  camps  of  the  Indi- 
ans, and  possibly  a  straight  road  thereto. 

Major  Elliott  was  promptly  off  by  daylight,  and,  a 
ford  having  been  found,  General  Custer  crossed  his  com- 
mand, but  it  was  hard  and  dangerous  work,  as  the  river 
was  bank  full  with  a  rapid  current  and  quantities  of 
floating  ice, to  say  nothing  of  the  bottom  being  in  places 
quicksand.  However,  by  doubling  the  teams  and  the 
free  use  of  ropes  and  lariats  it  was  finally  accomplished, 


240  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  by  eleven  o'clock  the  train  and  the  whole  command 
was  on  the  south  side  of  the  Canadian  Kiver  and  had 
moved  across  the  valley  and  up  on  to  the  level  of  the 
great  plains.  Just  as  this  was  accomplished  Corbin,  one 
of  Ouster's  scouts,  came  riding  at  full  speed  with  the 
information  that  Major  Elliott,  when  twelve  miles  up 
the  north  fork  of  the  Canadian,  had  discovered  the 
trail  of  an  Indian  war  party  one  hundred  and  fifty 
strong  not  twenty-four  hours  old,  had  followed  it 
across  to  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  and  was  in  full 
pursuit.  Corbin  was  furnished  a  fresh  horse  and  sent 
back  full  speed  to  tell  Elliott  to  push  on  until  8  P.  M., 
and  if  by  that  time  Custer  had  not  joined  him  to  camp 
and  wait  for  him. 

Leaving  his  train  under  guard  of  eighty  men  with 
instructions  to  follow  as  fast  as  possible,  Custer  set 
out  with  the  rest  of  the  force  to  overtake  the  major. 
Each  trooper  carried  one  hundred  rounds  of  ammu- 
nition, coffee,  and  hard  bread,  and  a  small  amount 
of  forage.  Tents  and  extra  blankets  were  left  with 
the  wagons.  It  was  to  be  a  ride  that  was  to  end 
only  when  the  enemy  had  been  struck.  The  snow 
was  now  a  foot  deep  on  the  plains,  but  the  weather 
had  moderated,  so  that  at  midday  the  upper  crust 
became  soft.  Custer  took  a  direct  line  across  the 
open  plain  and  frequently  changed  the  leading  troop 
of  his  column,  as  breaking  the  way  was  exhaust- 
ing to  the  horses.  It  was  not  until  9  p.  M.  that 
he  overtook  Elliott,  who  had  halted  near  the  trail  on 
a  stream  of  good  water  and  was  concealed  in  the  tim- 
ber awaiting  his  arrival.  The  horses  were  unsaddled, 
well  rubbed  down,  and  given  a  good  feed  of  oats.  Camp 
fires  were  built  under  the  steep  banks  of  the  creek  to 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  241 

conceal  the  lire  from  observation,  and  the  men  made 
coffee,  which  with  "  hardtack "  was  a  most  welcome 
meal. 

After  an  hour's  rest  the  horses  were  quietly  sad- 
dled and  without  the  slightest  noise  the  cavalry  moved 
out  again  and  took  up  the  trail  by  moonlight,  led  by 
the  Osage  guides  and  the  scouts  California  Joe  and 
Corbin.  Not  a  loud  word  was  spoken,  and  strict  orders 
prohibited  the  lighting  of  a  match  or  smoking  of  a  pipe. 
After  following  the  trail  for  a  number  of  miles  the 
command  was  halted  at  the  request  of  one  of  the  Osage 
Indian  scouts,  who  averred  that  he  smelled  fire.  This 
was  doubted,  but  he  was  ordered  to  advance  cautiously, 
and  the  cavalry  slowly  followed.  Half  a  mile  farther  on 
a  small  camp  fire  was  discovered  slowly  smouldering 
in  the  timber.  The  Indian  scouts  now  advanced  cau- 
tiously, and,  after  carefully  examining  the  vicinity  and 
hunting  over  the  ground,  gave  it  as  their  opinion  that 
this  fire  had  been  kindled  by  Indian  boys,  who  had 
been  grazing  and  herding  their  ponies  there  the  pre- 
vious day,  and  that  the  Indian  village  was  probably 
within  two  or  three  miles  distance.  The  Indian  scouts 
again  took  up  the  trail,  but  moved  very  cautiously,  the 
cavalry  keeping  some  distance  to  the  rear  and  moving 
as  silently  as  possible.  Ouster  himself  now  accompa- 
nied the  two  Osage  Indian  scouts,  who  kept  just  at  his 
horse's  head. 

He  writes:  "  The  same  one  who  discovered  fire 
advanced  cautiously  to  the  crest  and  looked  carefully 
into  the  valley  beyond,  .  .  .  then  crouched  down,  and 
came  creeping  back.  'What  is  it?'  '  Heaps  Injuns  down 
there.' ';  In  a  moment  Ouster  had  dismounted,  crept  to 
the  crest,  and  looked  over.  He  could  indistinctly  see 


242  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

a  herd  of  some  kind  of  animals,  but  a  moment  later  the 
bark  of  a  dog  followed  by  the  tinkling  of  a  bell  told 
him  it  was  the  Indian  pony  herd,  and  he  knew  then  that 
his  force  was  fairly  upon  the  winter  camp  of  the  Indi- 
ans and  undiscovered.  It  was  now  past  midnight.  So, 
quickly  but  quietly  hurrying  back  to  his  troops,  Ouster 
assembled  all  his  officers,  told  them  to  take  off  their 
sabres,  that  their  clanking  might  not  make  any  noise, 
and  silently  guided  them  to  the  crest.  There  in  the 
moonlight  he  pointed  out  the  location  of  the  village, 
that  they  all  might  have  a  good  general  idea  of  the 
exact  situation,  and  stealthily  withdrawing  to  the 
regiment,  which  was  standing  to  horse  on  the  trail 
a  little  less  than  a  mile  distant,  he  gave  his  orders 
for  the  attack.  He  divided  his  force  into  four  detach- 
ments of  nearly  equal  strength — his  entire  command 
numbered  something  more  than  eight  hundred  men — 
with  instructions  to  two  of  the  detachments  to  move 
out  at  once  and  make  a  circuitous  march  of  several 
miles  and  take  position  on  the  farther  side  of  the  Indian 
village,  and  within  little  more  than  an  hour  after 
they  had  left  the  column  these  two  detachments,  which 
had  moved  out  to  the  left  for  the  farther  side  of  the 
village,  had  made  a  long  detour  and  carefully  and  cau- 
tiously taken  up  their  allotted  positions,  and  lay  silent 
and  undiscovered  within  a  short  half  mile  of  the  Indian 
camp,  the  tepees  of  which  occupied  the  timber  along 
the  river  bank  in  a  straggling  line  that  stretched  down- 
stream for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 

Another  detachment  moved  slowly  and  silently 
about  a  mile  to  the  right  of  the  trail  and  took  up  a 
position  in  the  valley  on  the  right  of  the  village,  par- 
tially concealed  in  a  clump  of  timber.  Custer  with  the 


The  attack  on  Black  Kettle's  camp. 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  243 

fourth  detachment  remained  on  the  main  trail.  The 
village  was  thus  completely  surrounded,  and  the  orders 
were  for  all  the  detachments  to  approach  the  village 
as  near  as  might  be  without  running  great  risk  of  dis- 
covery, conceal  themselves  as  much  as  possible,  and  to 
remain  absolutely  quiet  until  daylight.  Strict  orders 
were  given  that  not  a  match  was  to  be  lighted  or  a 
shot  to  be  fired  until  the  charge  was  sounded  by  the 
regimental  trumpeter  in  Ouster's  detachment,  when 
each  of  the  other  three  detachments  were  to  charge 
upon  the  village  and  attack  it  at  all  points.  It  grew 
very  cold  toward  morning,  but  the  men  were  not  al- 
lowed to  make  the  slightest  noise,  not  even  to  swing 
their  arms  or  stamp  their  feet,  and  it  was  over  four 
long  hours  to  day,  even  after  the  various  detachments 
reached  their  hiding  places. 

Ouster  had  no  absolute  knowledge  that  they  had 
done  so,  but  he  knew  he  could  depend  upon  his  offi- 
cers to  do  all  that  was  possible.  While  waiting  the 
attack  the  men  were  all  dismounted,  each  man  hold- 
ing his  own  horse,  and  many  of  them,  while  still 
holding  their  bridles,  wrapped  the  capes  of  their 
overcoats  over  their  heads  and  threw  themselves  down 
in  the  snow  in  front  of  their  horses  and  went  to 
sleep.  At  the  first  sign  of  dawn  every  one  was  astir. 
Overcoats  were  taken  off  and  strapped  to  the  saddle, 
in  order  that  the  men's  movements  might  not  be  im- 
peded by  their  bulk  and  weight,  carbines  were  care- 
fully loaded  and  slung,  pistols  examined  and  loosened 
in  their  holsters,  saddles  recinched,  and  curb  chains 
carefully  looked  to.  Then  as  a  whispered  command 
to  mount  ran  quietly  along  the  line  the  men  sprang 
lightly  into  their  saddles,  gathered  up  their  reins,  fixed 


2M  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

their  eyes  for  an  instant  on  the  brightening  heavens  in 
the  east,  and  turned  with  quickened  ears  and  eager 
eyes  in  the  direction  of  the  village,  impatiently  await- 
ing the  bugle  blast,  which  they  well  knew  would 
soon  wake  the  echoes  along  the  banks  of  the  Washita. 

At  this  moment  Ouster,  at  the  head  of  his  command, 
was  moving  at  a  slow  walk  on  the  main  trail  to  the  vil- 
lage. His  bugler,  with  his  trumpet  in  his  hand  and  his 
eyes  on  the  general,  rides  by  his  side,  while  just  in  the 
rear  is  the  regimental  band,  the  leader  of  which  has  had 
orders  to  play  Garry  Owen,  the  regimental  war  cry,  the 
instant  the  charge  is  sounded.  A  turn  in  the  trail,  and 
in  the  dim  light  of  early  morning,  five  hundred  yards 
distant,  dotting  the  north  bank  of  the  Washita  for 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  without  a  sign  of  human 
life  about  it,  lay  the  Indian  village.  From  the  top  ef 
two  or  three  of  the  tepees  a  light  wreath  of  smoke  floated 
languidly  on  the  cold,  still  morning  air,  while  close  to 
it  is  the  pony  herd,  but  the  ponies  evidently  sense  dan- 
ger, and,  throwing  up  their  heads,  the  herd  began  to 
slowly  move  off.  For  an  instant  Ouster  believed  that 
the  Indians  have  been  ^warned  and  feared  that  the  vil- 
lage was  deserted.  The  next  second  his  astonished  ears 
heard  the  sharp  report  of  a  rifle  from  the  other  end  of 
the  village.  Instantly  turning  to  his  trumpeter,  Ouster 
commanded,"  Sound  the  charge!  "  Placing  his  trumpet 
to  his  lips  he  obeyed,  and  as  the  piercing  blare  of  "  the 
charge "  cut  clearly  through  the  frosty  air  Ouster 
glanced  back  over  his  shoulder  at  his  expectant  band 
leader,  driving  the  rowels  of  his  spurs  into  his  charger's 
flanks  as  he  did  so,  and  shouted,  "  Play! "  and  then  to 
the  rollicking  air  of  Garry  Owen  the  whole  column 
breaks  into  a  mad  gallop,  dashed  out  around  and  by  the 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  245 

band,  and  with  a  ringing  cheer  and  in  a  mighty  rush 
swept  down  the  trail  to  the  village.  While  borne  on  the 
rushing  wind  to  Ouster's  anxious  ears,  as  they  galloped 
on,  three  other  trumpets  echoed  the  blare  of  his  own  in 
answering  charge,  and  from  every  side  of  the  doomed 
Indian  village,  with  hoarse  and  heavy  cheers  and  thun- 
dering stride,  came  three  other  converging  columns  of 
cavalry,  charging  straight  for  the  Indian  tepees.  It 
was  a  complete  surprise  to  the  Indians,  and  the  sleep- 
ing warriors  sprang  from  their  couches,  grasped  their 
arms,  and,  throwing  back  the  entering  flap  of  their 
tepees,  leaped  into  the  open  air,  rifles  in  hand,  to  make 
what  stand  they  could  against  their  enemies.  The 
screams  of  the  women  and  children,  the  howling  and 
baying  of  the  Indian  dogs,  the  shouts  of  the  soldiers, 
the  crack  of  rifles,  and  the  wild  rush  of  the  charging 
troopers  through  the  village,  mingled  with  the  defiant 
war  cry  of  the  now  desperate  Cheyennes,  made  for  a 
short  time  a  heartrending  scene  of  awful  retribution, 
for  the  cavalry  had  fallen  upon  Black  Kettle's  band, 
the  very  worst  in  the  Cheyenne  nation,  and  the  one 
that  had  done  more  to  devastate  the  Kansas  frontier 
than  any  other  one  band  on  the  great  plains. 

Whatever  may  be  truthfully  said  against  the  Ameri- 
can Indian,  and  much  that  is  bad  can  be  truthfully  said, 
cowardice  is  not  one  of  his  faults,  especially  of  the  Chey- 
enne, and,  fiend  that  he  was,  Black  Kettle  was  no  cow- 
ard. He  was  the  very  first  to  spring  fully  armed  from 
his  tepee,  for  his  quick  ear  had  caught  the  sound  of  ad- 
vancing cavalry  even  before  the  trumpet  sounded  the 
charge,  and,  firing  his  rifle  as  a  signal  to  his  band  (this 
was  the  gunshot  that  had  startled  Custer),  he  called 

upon  them  to  rally,  shouting  his  war  cry  of  defiance  as 
17 


246  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  cavalry  swept  down  upon  his  village,  where,  dis- 
daining flight,  he  was  one  of  the  first  Indians  to  fall 
dead  from  the  opening  volleys  of  the  cavalry,  but  he 
fell  gallantly  fighting  and  at  the  front,  dying  bravely, 
like  the  savage  warrior  that  he  was.  In  less  than  an 
hour  the  cavalry  had  complete  possession  of  the  Indian 
village,  but  only  after  hard  fighting. 

But  soon  the  question  was,  Could  they  hold  it?  All 
of  the  Indian  warriors  who  had  escaped  from  the  tepees 
had  taken  position  behind  rocks,  trees,  and  under  cover 
of  the  river  bank,  and,  led  by  Little  Rock,  the  next  in 
rank  to  Black  Kettle,  now  assailed  the  cavalry  from  all 
sides.  Ouster  soon  saw  that  he  had  sharp  work  before 
him,  and  was  much  puzzled  at  the  apparent  strength  of 
his  assailants,  and  still  more  so  when  some  of  them 
appeared  fully  mounted  in  his  immediate  front.  In- 
quiry soon  developed  the  fact  that  the  village  of  Black 
Kettle,  which  he  had  captured,  was  located  the  highest 
up  on  the  stream,  while  below  it,  in  succession,  a  mile 
or  two  apart  and  within  less  than  ten  miles,  were  lo- 
cated the  villages  of  all  the  hostile  tribes  of  the  South- 
ern plains,  including  other  bands  of  Cheyenne,  Ara- 
pahoes,  Kiowas,  Comanches,  and  even  some  of  the 
Apaches.  Reforming  his  command  as  rapidly  as  he 
could  get  the  detachments  together,  he  prepared  for 
an  attack  of  the  Indians  in  force.  It  soon  came,  but, 
forming  his  men  on  foot  in  a  circle  within  the  village, 
he  was  able  to  successfully  repel  it.  His  quartermaster, 
Major  Bell,  fearing  he  might  need  ammunition,  had 
taken  a  small  escort  from  the  train  and  pushed  through 
with  it,  arriving  just  in  time  to  be  of  the  greatest  serv- 
ice. 

Custer  now  proceeded  to  destroy  the  village,  burn- 


A  WINTER'S  FIGHT  IN  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.  247 

ing  it  with  all  its  supplies.  Then,  mounting  his  troops, 
he  attacked  and  drove  hack  the  assailing  Indians.  He 
had  captured  Black  Kettle's  herd  of  eight  hundred  and 
seventy-five  ponies,  but  now  realized  that  he  could  not 
safely  get  them  hack  to  Camp  Supply,  so,  after  taking 
what  were  needed  to  mount  the  captive  women  and 
children,  he  ordered  the  rest  shot.  He  now  prepared 
to  make  his  way  hack,  but  on  assembling  his  command 
Major  Elliott  and  fourteen  enlisted  men  were  missing. 
When  last  seen  Elliott  was  in  close  pursuit  of  a  small 
party  of  Indians,  but  notwithstanding  searching  par- 
ties were  sent  as  far  as  was  safe  to  send  them  nothing 
could  be  found  of  the  major  and  his  men.  Perhaps, 
however,  the  fate  of  Major  Elliott  and  his  party,  con- 
sisting of  Sergeant-Ma j or  Kennedy,  three  corporals, 
and  ten  privates  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  may  as  well 
be  recorded  here  as  elsewhere,  although  nothing  posi- 
tive was  known  of  their  fate  until  the  10th  of  the  fol- 
lowing December. 

I  quote  from  General  Custer's  report:  "  The  bodies 
of  Elliott  and  his  little  band,  with  but  a  single  excep- 
tion, were  found  lying  within  a  circle  not  exceeding 
twenty  yards  in  diameter.  We  found  them  exactly  as 
they  fell,  except  that  their  barbarous  foe  had  stripped 
and  mutilated  the  bodies  in  the  most  savage  manner. 
...  No  words  were  needed  to  tell  how  desperate  had 
been  the  struggle  before  they  were  finally  over- 
whelmed." Mounting  his  whole  force  and  throwing 
forward  his  flankers  and  skirmishers,  Custer  boldly,  with 
colours  flying  and  his  band  playing,  moved  directly  to- 
ward the  large  body  of  mounted  Indians  who  now  con- 
fronted him  and  directly  down  the  river  toward  their 
camps.  In  a  few  moments  they  broke  wildly  in  the 


248  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

direction  of  their  villages,  evidently  thinking  that  Ous- 
ter must  be  the  advance  guard  of  a  much  larger  force. 
This  was  exactly  the  impression  he  wished  to  produce; 
so  about  dark  he  retraced  his  course,  passed  through 
the  burned  village,  and  took  up  his  old  trail  for  Camp 
Supply,  which  he  reached  with  all  his  prisoners  in  due 
time  without  further  notable  incident.  In  this  action 
we  lost  two  fine  officers,  Major  Elliott  and  Captain 
Hamilton,  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  and  nineteen  en- 
listed men  killed,  and  had  three  officers  and  eleven  en- 
listed men  wounded.  The  Indians  lost  two  of  their 
chiefs,  Black  Kettle  and  Little  Rock,  and  one  hundred 
and  one  warriors  killed,  besides  their  wounded.  But  by 
far  the  best  result  of  this  expedition  was  that  it  taught 
the  Indians  that  winter's  ice  and  snow  no  longer  meant 
rest  and  safety  for  them  after  a  summer's  bloody  raid 
upon  the  frontier  settlements. 


CHAPTER   XL 

THE   CLOSE   OF   THE   SIOUX   CAMPAIGN   OF     186&-'69    AND 
THE   PUNISHMENT   OF   THE   PIEGANS. 

No  sooner  had  General  Custer  returned  to  Camp 
Supply  from  his  battle  on  the  Washita  than  General 
Sheridan  determined  on  a  second  winter's  stroke  at  the 
savages.  But  as  soon  as  the  report  of  this  attack  upon 
the  winter  camp  of  the  Indians  in  zero  weather  reached 
the  East  the  humanitarians  seemed  to  go  wild  over  it, 
and  through  the  pulpit,  the  press,  and  Congress,  with- 
out pausing  for  a  moment  to  inquire  into  the  military 
necessity  that  demanded  it  nor  the  justice  that  sanc- 
tioned it,  they  proceeded  bitterly  to  assail  General 
Sheridan,  the  army,  and  the  War  Department,  alleging 
that  the  campaign  was  made  solely  that  the  army  might 
have  an  excuse  for  its  being,  never  seeming  to  realize 
that  the  Indians  had  brought  the  trouble  upon  them- 
selves by  a  series  of  unprovoked  murders  and  outrages 
upon  the  frontiersmen  and  their  families  almost  pass- 
ing the  bounds  of  mortal  endurance. 

General  Sheridan,  however,  said  little  or  nothing  at 
the  time,  but  unhesitatingly  continued  his  movements. 
In  his  first  report,  however,  of  his  winter's  operations 
he  struck  back  rather  savagely  at  his  Eastern  assailants, 
and  as  this  official  report  to  the  commanding  general  of 

249 


250  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  army  not  only  outlines  with  sketchy  distinctness  his 
winter's  campaign,  but  gives  his  reasons  for  it,  without 
glossing  over  the  actions  of  the  Indians  that  occasioned 
it,  I  shall  quote  directly  from  it,  believing  that  the  mass 
of  our  people  have  little  or  no  knowledge  of  the  actual 
brutality  of  the  Indians  of  the  great  plains: 

"HEADQUARTERS  MILITARY  DIVISION  OF  THE  MISSOURI, 

"CHICAGO,  ILL.,  November  1, 1869. 

"  GENERAL:  I  have  the  honour  to  submit  for  your 
information  the  following  report  of  military  operations 
in  the  Department  of  Missouri  from  October  15,  1868, 
to  March  27,  1869.  In  my  annual  report  of  last  year, 
and  in  a  special  report  made  previously,  I  gave  details 
of  the  murderous  outbreak  and  massacre  of  defenceless 
frontier  citizens  by  that  class  of  our  people  known  as 
Indians. 

"  The  Indians  have  run  riot  along  the  lines  of  our 
Western  settlements  and  the  emigrant  and  commercial 
lines  of  travel  for  many  years,  murdering  and  plunder- 
ing, without  any  adequate  punishment,  and  the  Gov- 
ernment has  heretofore  sought  to  give  protection  to 
some  of  its  best  interests  by  making  presents  to  these 
savages;  or,  in  other  words,  while  it  found  it  necessary 
to  enact  the  most  stringent  laws  for  the  government  of 
civilized  whites,  it  was  attempting  to  govern  a  wild, 
brutal,  and  savage  people  without  any  laws  at  all. 

"  The  experience  of  many  years  of  this  character  of 
Indian  depredations,  with  security  to  themselves  and 
families  in  the  winter,  had  made  them  very  confident 
and  bold;  especially  was  this  true  of  the  previous  sum- 
mer and  winter.  So  boldly  had  this  system  of  murder 
and  robbery  been  carried  on  that  not  less  than  eight 


CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  251 

hundred  people  had  been  murdered  since  June,  1862— 
men,  women,  and  children.  To  disabuse  the  minds  of 
the  savages  of  this  confident  security,  and  to  strike  them 
at  a  period  at  which  they  were  the  most  if  not  entirely 
helpless,  became  a  necessity,  and  the  general  in  chief 
then  in  command  of  this  division  authorized  a  winter 
campaign,  and  at  or  about  the  same  time  directed  that 
the  reservation  set  apart  for  the  Kiowas  and  Comanches 
at  the  Witchita  Mountains  should  be  considered  a  place 
of  refuge,  where,  if  the  savages  would  go  and  submit, 
they  would  be  exempt  from  the  operations  of  the 
troops. 

"  The  blow  that  Ouster  had  struck  was  a  hard  one, 
and  fell  on  the  guiltiest  of  all  the  bands — that  of  Black 
Kettle.  It  was  this  band  that,  without  provocation,  had 
massacred  the  settlers  on  the  Saline  and  Solomon,  and 
perpetrated  cruelties  too  fiendish  for  recital. 

"  He  was  also  with  the  band  on  Walnut  Creek,  where 
they  made  their  medicine  or  held  their  devilish  in- 
cantations previous  to  the  party  setting  out  to  massacre 
the  settlers.  I  subjoin  here  the  affidavit  of  Edmund 
Guerriere,  an  educated  half-breed  and  an  intelligent 
man,  who  was  with  the  tribe  at  the  time,  showing  that 
the  men  of  this  very  band  were  'the  leaders  of  the  mas- 
sacre and  instigators  of  the  war: 

"  HEADQUARTERS  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  MISSOURI, 
"!N  THE  FIELD,  MEDICINE  BLUFF  CREEK, 

"  WITCHITA  MOUNTAINS,  February  9, 1869. 
*'  Personally  appeared  before  me,  Edmund   Guerriere,  who 
resides  on  the  Purgatoire  River,  Colorado  Territory,  who,  being 
duly  sworn,  testifies  as  follows  : 

"  I  was  with  the  Cheyenne  Indians  at  the  time  of  the  massa- 
cre on  the  Solomon  and  Saline  Rivers,  in  Kansas,  the  early  part 


252  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

or  middle  of  last  August,  and  I  was  living  at  this  time  with  Lit- 
tle Rock's  band. 

"  The  war  party  who  started  for  the  Solomon  and  Saline  was 
Little  Rock's,  Black  Kettle's,  Medicine  Arrow's,  and  Bull  Bear's 
bands  ;  and,  as  near  as  I  can  remember,  nearly  all  the  different 
bands  of  Cheyennes  had  some  of  their  young  men  in  this  war 
party  which  committed  the  outrages  and  murders  on  the  Solo- 
mon and  Saline.  Red  Nose  and  The-man-who-breaks-the-mar- 
row-bones  (Ho-eh-a-mo-a-hce)  were  the  two  leaders  in  this  mas- 
sacre, the  former  belonging  to  the  Dog  Soldiers  and  the  latter  to 
Black  Kettle's  band.  As  soon  as  we  heard  the  news  by  runners, 
who  came  on  ahead  to  Black  Kettle,  saying  that  they  had  already 
commenced  fighting,  we  moved  from  our  camp  on  Buckner's 
Fork  of  the  Pawnee,  near  its  head  waters,  down  to  North  Fork, 
where  we  met  Big  Jake's  band,  and  then  moved  south  across  the 
Arkansas  River  ;  and  when  we  got  to  the  Cimarron,  George  Bent 
and  I  left  them,  and  went  to  our  homes  on  the  Purgatoire. 

"  EDMUND  GUERIEBRE. 
"Witness: 

"  J.  ScHUYirER  CROSBY, 
"  Bvt.  Lieut.  Col.  U.  S.  A.,  Aide-de-Camp. 

"There  was  no  provocation  on  the  part  of  the 
whites  or  of  the  Government  to  justify  the  Indians  in 
commencing  hostilities,  except  an  allegation  that  the 
agent  would  not  deliver  guns  and  ammunition  to  the 
tribe;  and  it  is  time  that  the  Indians  should  know  that 
any  act  of  the  Government  or  people  will  not  justify 
murder,  rape,  and  pillage. 

"  We  found  in  Black  Kettle's  village  photographs 
and  daguerreotypes,  clothing,  and  hedding,  from  the 
houses  of  the  persons  massacred  on  the  Solomon  and 
Saline.  The  mail  which  I  had  sent  hy  the  expressmen, 
Nat  Marshal  and  Bill  Davis,  from  Bluff  Creek  to  Fort 
Dodge,  who  were  murdered  and  mutilated,  was  likewise 
found;  also  a  large  blank  book,  with  Indian  illustra- 
tions of  the  different  fights  which  Black  Kettle's  band 
had  been  engaged  in,  especially  about  Fort  Wallace  and 


CLOSE  OP  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  253 

on  the  line  of  the  Denver  stages;  showing  when  the 
fight  had  been  with  the  coloured  troops — when  with 
white;  also,  when  trains  had  been  captured  and  women 
killed  in  wagons.  Still  a  hue  and  cry  was  raised, 
through  the  influence  of  the  Indian  ring,  in  which  some 
good  and  pious  ecclesiastics  took  part,  and  became  the 
aiders  and  abettors  of  savages  who  murdered,  without 
mercy,  men,  women,  and  children;  in  all  cases  ravishing 
the  women,  sometimes  as  often  as  forty  and  fifty  times 
in  succession,  and  while  insensible  from  brutality  and 
exhaustion  forced  sticks  up  their  persons,  and,  in  one 
instance,  the  fortieth  or  fiftieth  savage  drew  his  sabre 
and  used  it  on  the  person  of  the  woman  in  the  same 
manner.  I  do  not  know  exactly  how  far  these  hu- 
manitarians should  be  excused  on  account  of  their 
ignorance,  but  surely  it  is  the  only  excuse  that  gives 
a  shadow  of  justification  for  aiding  and  abetting  such 
horrid  crimes. 

"  Although  Ouster  had  struck  a  hard  blow,  and 
wiped  out  old  Black  Kettle  and  his  murderers  and  rapers 
of  helpless  women,  I  did  not  feel  that  our  work  was 
done  yet,  but  desired  that  the  Indians  should  see  fully 
how  helpless  they  were  even  at  this  season,  when  the 
Government  was  in  earnest.  So  on  the  7th  of  De- 
cember, after  getting  the  Kansas  regiment  as  well 
set  up  as  possible,  we  moved  toward  the  head  waters 
of  the  Washita,  with  thirty  days'  rations  for  the 
men  and  about  one  quarter  rations  of  forage  for  the 
animals. 

"  The  snow  was  still  on  the  ground  and  the  weather 
very  cold,  but  the  officers  and  men  were  cheerful,  al- 
though the  men  had  only  shelter  tents.  We  moved 
due  south  until  we  struck  fhe  Washita,  near  Ouster's 
fight  of  November  27th,  having  crossed  the  main  Ca- 
nadian with  the  thermometer  about  eighteen  degrees 
below  zero." 


254  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

It  is  reasonably  safe  to  say  that  campaigning  in 
weather  eighteen  degrees  below  zero  is  not  apt  to  be 
undertaken  save  and  only  from  stern  necessity. 

"After  reaching  the  Washita,  my  intention  was  to 
take  up  the  trail  of  the  Indians  and  follow  it.  We 
rested  one  day  and  made  an  examination  of  the  ground; 
found  the  bodies  of  Major  Elliott  and  his  small  party, 
and  examined  the  Indian  camps  or  villages  which  had 
been  abandoned  when  General  Custer  struck  Black 
Kettle's  band.  They  extended  about  twelve  or  thirteen 
miles  down  the  river,  and  from  the  appearance  of  things 
they  had  fled  in  the  greatest  haste,  abandoning  pro- 
visions, robes,  cooking  utensils,  and  every  species  of 
property,  and  it  appeared  to  me  they  must  have  at  last 
begun  to  realize  that  winter  was  not  going  to  give  them 
security. 

"  On  the  next  day  we  started  down  the  Washita, 
following  the  Indian  trail;  but  finding  so  many  deep 
ravines  and  canons,  I  thought  we  would  move  out  on 
the  divide;  but  a  blinding  snowstorm  coming  on,  and 
fearing  to  get  lost  with  a  large  command  and  trains 
of  wagons  on  a  treeless  prairie  without  water,  we  were 
forced  back  to  the  banks  of  the  Washita,  where  we  at 
least  could  get  wood  and  water.  Next  day  we  contin- 
ued down  the  river,  following  the  trail  of  the  Indians, 
and  crossed  numerous  ravines  by  digging  and  bridging 
with  pioneer  parties.  This  was  continued  until  the 
evening  of  the  16th  [December],  when  we  came  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  Indians — principally  Kiowas.  They  did 
not  dream  that  any  soldiers  could  operate  in  such  cold 
and  inclement  weather,  and  we  marched  down  on  them 
before  they  knew  of  our  presence  in  the  country;  after 
night  they  saw  our  fires,  and  by  means  of  relays  com- 
municated with  General  Hazen,  and  obtained  a  letter 
from  him  saying  that  the  Kiowas  were  friendly.  I  had 


CLOSE  OP  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  255 

just  followed  their  trail  from  Ouster's  battlefield,  and 
a  portion  of  this  band  had  just  come  from  Texas,  where 
they  had  murdered  and  plundered  in  the  most  barba- 
rous manner;  while  in  the  previous  spring  their  outrages 
on  the  Texas  border  are  too  horrible  to  relate,  one  item 
of  which  is  that,  in  returning  to  their  villages,  fourteen 
of  the  poor  little  captive  children  were  frozen  to  death. 

"  The  Cheyennes  broke  their  promise  and  did  not 
come  in,  so  I  ordered  General  Ouster  to  move  against 
them;  this  he  did,  and  came  on  the  Cheyennes  on  the 
head  waters  of  Eed  River,  apparently  moving  north;  it 
is  possible  they  were  on  their  way  to  Camp  Supply,  as 
in  some  of  the  conversations  I  had  with  Little  Robe  I 
had  declared  that  if  they  did  not  get  into  the  Fort 
Cobb  reservation  within  a  certain  time  they  would  not 
be  received  there,  but  would  be  received  at  Camp  Sup- 
ply; this  was  because  I  expected  to  stay  only  for  a  lim- 
ited time  at  Fort  Cobb,  intending  to  return  to  Camp 
Supply. 

"  Ouster  found  them  in  a  very  forlorn  condition, 
and  could  have  destroyed,  I  think,  most  of  the  tribe, 
certainly  their  villages,  but  contented  himself  with  tak- 
ing their  renewed  promise  to  come  into  Camp  Supply, 
and  obtained  from  them  two  white  women  whom  they 
held  as  captives.  The  most  of  the  tribe  fulfilled  this 
latter  promise  so  far  as  coming  into  the  vicinity  of 
Camp  Supply  and  communicating  with  the  command- 
ing officer;  but  Tall  Bull's  band  again  violated  the 
promise  made,  and  went  north  to  the  Republican, 
where  he  joined  a  party  of  Sioux,  who,  on  the  13th  of 
May,  1869,  were  attacked  and  defeated  with  heavy  loss, 
whereupon  the  whole  tribe  moved  into  Camp  Supply. 

"  Meantime,  while  the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes 
were  negotiating  with  me  to  surrender,  the  Quahrada 
or  Staked  Plains  Comanches  sent  a  delegation  over  to 


256  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Bascom,  offering  to  surrender  themselves,  under  the 
expectation,  perhaps,  that  they  could  get  better  terms 
there  than  with  me;  but  General  Getty  arrested  the 
delegation,  which  was  ordered  to  Fort  Leavenworth, 
and  finally  returned  to  their  people  on  condition  that 
they  would  deliver  themselves  up  on  the  reservation  at 
Medicine  Bluff  or  Fort  Sill.  This  was  complied  with, 
and  I  am  now  able  to  report  that  there  has  been  a  ful- 
filment of  all  the  conditions  which  we  had  in  view 
when  we  commenced  our  winter's  campaign  last  No- 
vember— namely,  punishment  was  inflicted;  property 
destroyed;  the  Indians  disabused  of  the  idea  that  winter 
would  bring  security;  and  all  the  tribes  south  of  the 
Platte  forced  on  to  the  reservations  set  apart  for  them 
by  the  Government,  where  they  are  in  a  tangible  shape 
for  the  good  work  of  civilization,  education,  and  reli- 
gious instruction. 

"I  can  not  speak  too  highly  of  the  patient  and 
cheerful  conduct  of  the  troops  under  my  command; 
they  were  many  times  pinched  by  hunger  and  numbed 
by  cold,  sometimes  living  in  holes  below  the  surface  of 
the  prairie — dug  to  keep  them  from  freezing;  at  other 
times  pursuing  the  savages,  and  living  on  the  flesh  of 
mules.  In  all  these  trying  conditions  the  troops  were 
always  cheerful  and  willing,  and  the  officers  full  of 


"  I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
"  P.  H.  SHERIDAN, 

"  Lieutenant  General. 
"  General  W.  T.  SHERMAN, 

"  General  in  Chief  of  the  Army,  Washington,  D.  C." 

I  have  only  quoted  from  the  report  extracts  enough 
to  give  the  reader  a  general  idea  of  this  Indian  war  and 
what  caused  it,  and  of  some  of  the  hardships  incident  to 


CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  257 

a  winter's  campaign  against  the  Indians,  as  well  as  the 
final  outcome  of  this  one  of  1868  and  1869.  There  was 
also  a  great  deal  of  hard  work  and  some  sharp  fighting 
by  smaller  bodies  of  troops  north  of  the  Canadian  Eiver 
before  the  Indians  were  finally  forced  on  to  their  reser- 
vations, but  sufficient  has  been  written  and  quoted  to 
give  the  reflective  reader  food  for  thought  as  to  whether 
the  frontiersman  has  not  sometimes  had  good  cause 
for  his  hate  of  the  Indian. 

The  punishment  of  the  marauding  Indians  south  of 
the  Platte  Kiver  did  not,  however,  deter  or  intimidate 
those  in  the  far  North.  Certain  bands  of  the  Blackfeet 
Indians  living  in  the  extreme  northern  or  almost  un- 
settled districts  of  the  Territory  of  Montana  had  during 
the  years  immediately  succeeding  the  close  of  the  civil 
war — that  is  to  say,  from  1865  to  1869 — for  three  suc- 
cessive years  raided  the  thinly  settled  upper  portion  of 
the  Gallatin  Valley,  killed  the  frontiersmen,  murdered 
or  carried  off  their  wives  and  little  children,  burned 
their  ranches,  and  then,  driving  their  horses  and  cattle 
before  them,  escaped  through  the  mountain  passes  of 
the  Little  Belt  Kange  to  the  borders  of  the  British  pos- 
sessions hours  before  word  could  be  sent  to  the  nearest 
villages  or  any  hastily  organized  pursuit  could  be  made 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  inlying  settlements  that  could, 
or  at  any  time  did,  succeed  in  accomplishing  anything 
in  the  way  of  rescue  or  reprisals.  One  great  trouble 
that  prevented  the  troops  from  accomplishing  anything 
was  the  fact  that  it  was  generally  days  before  the  news 
of  the  raid  reached  them,  and  unfortunately  at  that 
time  we  did  not  have  any  cavalry  stationed  on  that 
section  of  our  frontier. 

These  raids  were  made  by  two  bands  of  the  Black- 


258  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

feet  known  as  Piegans  and  Bloods,  and  it  is  to  be  sup- 
posed that  the  commanding  general  of  the  department 
(Major-General  W.  S.  Hancock)  debited  them  in  full 
for  what  they  had  at  various  times  succeeded  in  accom- 
plishing in  the  hope  that  on  some  future  day  he  might 
be  able  to  force  a  complete  settlement  of  the  account. 

In  the  summer  of  1869  a  battalion  of  four  troops 
of  the  Second  Cavalry  was  sent  for  service  in  Montana 
and  stationed  at  Fort  Ellis.  Midwinter  was  the  time 
decided  upon  for  a  blow  at  the  Piegans  and  Major 
E.  M.  Baker  was  the  officer  selected  to  command  the 
expedition.  The  utmost  secrecy  was  preserved  in  re- 
gard to  the  movement,  and  when  the  troops  started 
from  Fort  Ellis  on  the  6th  of  January,  1870,  with 
the  thermometer  at  ten  degrees  below  zero,  only  the 
senior  officers  of  the  command  were  aware  of  their  des- 
tination. At  Fort  Shaw  they  were  joined  by  fifty 
mounted  infantry  and  one  company  of  infantry  as  a 
train  guard,  and  then  the  united  command  plodded 
on  up  through  the  mountain  passes,  breaking  trail 
through  deep  snows  with  the  thermometer  ranging 
from  ten  to  forty  degrees  below  zero,  hunting  for  the 
winter  camps  of  the  Piegans  and  Bloods,  which  they 
knew  were  somewhere  near  the  line  of  the  British  pos- 
sessions. 

On  the  22d  of  January  the  scouts  located  the  camp 
of  the  Piegans,  which  was,  as  they  had  supposed  it 
would  be,  located  in  a  gorge  of  the  Marias  Eiver,  near 
the  British  line.  The  weather  was  intensely  bitter, 
but  the  command  marched  nearly  all  that  night  and 
halted  just  before  daylight  within  a  mile  or  so  of  the 
Indian  village.  It  was  so  very  cold  that  the  savages  had 
neglected  to  put  out  even  a  vedette,  and  so  just  at  day- 


CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1868-'69.  259 

light  the  troops  dashed  in  upon  them,  effecting  a  com- 
plete surprise,  for  they  had  not  deemed  it  possible  that 
our  soldiers  could  move  in  such  weather.  There  was 
little  or  no  time  for  defence;  our  troops  were  in  and 
through  the  village  almost  before  the  Indians  were  fair- 
ly awake,  so  although  some  of  them  sprang  to  arms 
and  made  for  a  few  moments  something  of  a  stand, 
the  whole  band  soon  stampeded,  for,  knowing  their 
guilt,  they  were  wild  with  terror,  breaking  from  their 
tepees  and  flying  in  all  directions,  the  soldiers  riding 
over  and  shooting  them  down  wherever  they  could  over- 
take them.  Our  loss  was  comparatively  very  little,  two 
or  three  killed  and  about  twenty  wounded,  while  one 
hundred  and  seventy-three  of  the  Piegans  lay  dead  on 
the  field.  It  was  an  awful  retribution,  but  the  Piegans 
had  brought  it  on  themselves.  The  women  and  chil- 
dren who  were  captured  were  turned  loose,  as  there  was 
no  way  of  bringing  them  into  any  of  our  posts.  Over 
three  hundred  captured  horses  were  brought  to  Fort 
Shaw,  and  many  of  them  returned  to  their  former  own- 
ers from  whom  the  Piegans  had  stolen  them.  General 
Hancock,  in  his  report  of  this  affair,  says: 

"  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  the  attack  on  the 
camp  some  women  and  children  were  accidentally 
killed.  As  is  well  known  to  all  acquainted  with  Indian 
fighting  a  certain  proportion  of  accidental  killing  will 
always  occur  in  affairs  of  this  kind,  especially  when  the 
attack  is  made  in  the  dim  light  of  early  morning,  and 
when  it  is  a  necessary  element  of  success  to  fire  into 
the  lodges  at  the  outset  to  drive  the  Indians  out  to  an 
open  contest.  It  is  believed  that  not  a  single  woman 
or  child  was  killed  by  our  own  people  outside  of  the 
lodges,  although,  as  is  also  well  known,  a  good  many 


260  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  the  women  on  such  occasions  fight  with  and  as  well 
as  the  men. 

"  As  much  obloquy  was  heaped  upon  Major  Baker, 
his  officers,  and  men,  owing  to  the  exaggerations  and 
misstatements  published  in  relation  to  the  number  of 
women  and  children  killed,  I  think  it  only  justice  to 
him  and  his  command  that  the  truth  should  be  made 
fully  known  to  the  public."  (It  was  said  over  one  hun- 
dred women  and  children  were  killed.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  less  than  forty  were  killed  by  the  volley  firing  of 
the  troops,  as  they  fired  into  the  tepees  to  drive  the 
warriors  out  on  the  opening  of  the  action.)  "  Eecol- 
lecting  the  season  of  the  year  in  which  the  expedition 
was  made,  the  terrible  cold  through  which  it  marched 
day  after  day  (forty  degrees  below  zero),  and  the  spirit 
with  which  the  troops  engaged  an  enemy  which  they 
deemed  as  strong  as  themselves,  I  think  the  command 
is  entitled  to  the  especial  commendation  of  the  mili- 
tary authorities  and  the  thanks  of  the  nation.  At  all 
events,  the  lesson  administered  to  the  Indians  has  been 
salutary  in  its  effects,  and  highly  beneficial  to  the  in- 
interests  of  Montana.  I  predict  it  will  be  a  long  time 
before  serious  trouble  may  be  again  apprehended  from 
the  Blackfeet." 

This  last  paragraph  from  General  Hancock's  pen 
was  written  in  1870.  The  splendid  soldier  who  wrote 
it  is  one  of  the  silent  majority,  but  in  the  light  of  the 
last  thirty  years  it  reads  like  prophecy.  Thirty  long 
years  have  passed  since  Major  Baker  struck  the  Piegans 
on  the  Marias  River,  but  the  Blackfeet  have  never 
again  attempted  a  raid  on  our  Montana  border. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

AKIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE. 

THE  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  between  the  re- 
public of  Mexico  and  the  United  States  in  1848,  to- 
gether with  the  supplementary  one  in  1853,  generally 
known  as  the  Gadsden  purchase,  by  which,  on  the  pay- 
ment of  ten  million  dollars,  our  Government  obtained 
that  part  of  modern  Arizona  south  of  the  Gila  Eiver, 
not  only  gave  us  all  the  claim  Mexico  had  to  the  terri- 
tory mentioned,  but  incidentally  gave  us  a  quit  claim, 
so  far  as  the  Mexicans  could  do  so,  to  a  tribe  of  Indians 
called  Apaches. 

In  that  part  of  his  history  of  the  Pacific  slope 
relating  to  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  the  historian 
Mr.  Hubert  Howe  Bancroft  says  that  "nearly  all 
of  what  we  now  call  Arizona  has  no  other  history  be- 
fore 1846  than  the  record  of  Spanish  and  Mexican 
exploring  entradas  [expeditions]  from  the  south  and 
east.  The  exception  is  the  small  tract  of  not  more 
than  sixty  miles  square  from  Tucson  southward."  The 
glory  of  discovering  this  territory  (Arizona)  must  be 
given  to  a  negro  and  a  Franciscan  friar  in  1539.  Ac- 
cepting this  statement,  we  have  a  starting  point  from 
which  to  date  our  knowledge  of  the  Apache  in  what  is 
known  as  Arizona,  and  we  find  him  to  have  been  quite 
a  difficult  factor  for  the  next  three  hundred  years  in 
18  261 


262  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

this  frontier  community  of  Spaniards,  Frenchmen,  and 
Mexicans.  For  the  first  century  of  Spanish  occupation 
and  misrule  in  this  portion  of  what  is  to-day  the  state 
of  Sonora  in  Mexico  little  is  accurately  known.  That 
the  Spaniards  sent  several  exploring  expeditions  into 
this  newly  discovered  country  is  substantiated  by  Spanish 
records  showing  that  the  first  one  was  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Fray  Marcos  de  Niza  of  the  Franciscan  friars, 
who,  with  another  friar,  Onorato,  and  black  Estevan- 
cio, together  with  some  native  Mexicans  from  Culiacan, 
set  out  from  San  Miguel  on  March  7,  1539,  to  explore 
this  (then)  unknown  country.  Onorato  fell  ill  and  was 
left  behind.  After  fifteen  days'  travel  they  came  to  a 
native  town  called  Vocapa.  There  the  friar  remained 
and  sent  forward  the  negro  Estevancio  to  explore.  He 
sent  back  glowing  reports  of  what  he  heard  of  the  Pueb- 
lo cities,  especially  of  the  city  of  Cibola.  On  or  about 
the  6th  of  April,  1539,  Father  Niza  set  out  after  his 
black  advance  guard,  and  in  five  or  six  days  came  to  a 
well-watered  settlement  near  the  borders  of  a  desert. 
Bancroft  says:  "  Between  Vocapa  and  this  place,  with- 
out much  doubt  they  had  crossed  what  is  now  the 
southern  bound  of  Arizona."  Niza  pushed  on  steadily 
after  the  negro  Estevancio,  who  kept  straight  on  his 
way  for  Cibola,  but  on  reaching  the  town  Estevancio 
was  forbidden  to  enter,  and  soon  set  upon  and  killed. 
However,  Father  Niza  kept  on  until  he  was  in  sight  of 
Cibola,  and  there  erected  a  cross  on  a  heap  of  stones 
and  took  formal  possession  of  the  whole  country  in  the 
name  of  the  Spanish  Governor  Mendoza  for  the  King 
of  Spain,  and  then  hurried  back  to  proclaim  his  discov- 
ery. It  seems  thus  that  without  doubt  the  first  Euro- 
pean to  enter  Arizona  was  the  black  man  Stephen, 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  263 

or  Estevancio,  Father  Niza  being  a  close  second.  The 
occupation  of  this  country  in  1540-'50  by  the  Spanish 
soldier  Coronado  with  an  armed  exploring  party  and  its 
occupation  by  Spanish  troops  and  Spaniards  turned  out 
to  be  a  distinct  disappointment  as  far  as  their  finding 
great  wealth  among  the  Pueblo  Indians  was  concerned. 
About  1672  the  various  Apache  tribes  became  trou- 
blesome, destroying  in  their  raids  one  of  the  Zuiii  towns 
and  six  of  the  pueblos.  In  1682,  in  the  civil  wars  and 
discords  under  the  Spanish,  "the  Apaches  and  Yutes 
took  advantage  of  the  situation  to  renew  their  raids 
for  plunder/7  In  1684  a  force  of  fifty  Spaniards  and 
one  hundred  Indians  were  sent  against  a  rancheria  of 
apostate  and  gentile  Apaches  to  kill  the  men  and  cap- 
ture the  women  and  children.  In  1698  it  appears  of 
record  that  the  French  almost  annihilated  a  Navajo 
force  of  four  thousand  men.  There  was  also  a  Spanish 
campaign  against  the  Faraon  Apaches,  but  it  was  futile, 
and  nothing  was  accomplished.  "  In  1755  depredations 
by  Apaches  were  frequent."  Again,  in  1750,  "  the  Na- 
vajo  conversion  was  a  failure/'  Of  the  Yutes  and 
Apaches  we  know  nothing  definitely  except  that  in 
most  years  "  they  gave  trouble  in  one  way  or  another." 
From  1751  to  1756  "the  Apaches  were  continuously 
troublesome,  and  many  expeditions  were  undertaken 
against  them,  .  .  .  but  only  a  few  are  recorded,  and 
those  very  meagrely.  .  .  .  The  only  success  achieved 
was  the  killing  of  a  few  warriors  and  the  capture  of 
some  women  and  children,  .  .  .  and  it  finally  came  to 
be  seriously  questioned  by  many  whether  these  cam- 
paigns were  of  the  slightest  advantage."  In  1786  Gen- 
eral IJgarte  introduced  a  radical  change  in  the  Apache 
Indian  policy.  The  Apaches  were  to  be  forced  by  an 


264  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

unceasing  Spanish  campaign  aided  by  friendly  Pima 
and  Opata  Indians  to  accept  and  enter  into  a  treaty  of 
peace  never  before  permitted  with  that  nation.  If  they 
observed  its  requirements  they  were  to  be  kindly  treat- 
ed, furnished  with  certain  supplies,  encouraged  to  settle 
near  the  presidio,  taught  to  drink  intoxicating  liquors, 
and  to  depend  on  Spanish  friendship  for  their  needs. 
This  worked  fairly  well  under  the  management  of  the 
Franciscan  friars  for  nearly  or  quite  twenty  years,  or  as 
long  as  the  Spaniards  did  not  attempt  the  Apaches  en- 
slavement, and  then,  naturally,  the  treaty  went  to 
pieces,  and,  as  we  shall  see  further  on,  the  Apaches 
again  took  to  the  war  path. 

From  1581  to  1840  both  the  Spaniards  and  the 
Mexicans  had  tried  to  subjugate  and  complete  the 
conquest  of  these  Indians  and  signally  failed.  For  a 
few  years  some  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  by  unvarying 
kindness,  sterling  integrity,  good  and  fair  treatment, 
unwearied  patience,  and  great  forbearance  did  actu- 
ally obtain  a  strong  hold  on  them  and  had  a  large 
part  of  the  tribe  well  started  on  the  road  toward 
Christianity.  Then  the  cupidity  of  the  miners,  the 
ranchmen,  and  the  small  local  governors  of  New  Spain, 
within  whose  districts  these  Indians  dwelt,  upset  and 
destroyed  all  the  work  of  the  fathers  in  an  attempt  to 
enslave  the  entire  tribe.  Baron  Humboldt  states  that 
the  Apaches  entered  upon  a  war  of  extermination  upon 
the  Spaniards  when  they  discovered  that  all  their  peo- 
ple captured  by  the  king's  troops  had  been  either  trans- 
ported to  Cuba  to  work  and  die  as  slaves  on  the  sugar 
plantations  or  else  sent  to  work  their  lives  out  in  the 
mines  of  Guanajuato.  From  that  time  the  hand  of  the 
Apache  was  against  both  the  Spaniard  and  the  Mexican 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  265 

and  opposed  to  civilization  as  well.  In  vain  were  troops 
sent  to  hunt  him  from  his  mountain  lair,  in  vain  were 
ambuscades  laid,  traps  set,  and  surprises  planned,  for 
the  Apache  was  ever  alert  and  could  not  be  taken  un- 
awares, and  furthermore  he  fought  only  where  success 
seemed  within  his  grasp.  Finally  the  Mexicans  de- 
clared him  an  outlaw  and  entered  upon  a  war  of  ex- 
termination against  him,  and  the  Mexican  states  of 
Sonora  and  Chihuahua  offered  a  standing  reward  of 
three  hundred  silver  dollars  for  each  and  every  scalp 
of  an  Apache  man,  woman,  or  child  that  should  be  de- 
livered at  certain  designated  army  posts,  and  actually 
entered  into  written  contract  with  several  desperate 
frontier  adventurers  for  the  furtherance  of  the  bloody 
work.  It  goes  without  saying  that  many  an  Apache 
scalp  eventually  found  its  way  to  the  stated  headquar- 
ters and  was  duly  paid  for,  but  for  every  individual 
Apache  scalp  taken,  whether  of  man,  woman,  or  child, 
it  is  reasonably  safe  to  aver  that  in  the  course  of  time 
more  than  threescore  Spaniards  or  Mexicans  bit  the 
dust,  for  the  Apache  was  ever  seeking  revenge,  and  was 
as  tireless  as  fate  in  its  pursuit.  Furthermore,  he  sent 
down  his  ancient  grudge  to  his  descendants,  who  gladly 
took  up  the  heritage  of  hate,  and  the  lapse  of  years 
and  the  passing  of  generations  failed  to  weaken  the 
Apache's  desire  for  revenge  or  sate  his  thirst  for  the 
blood  of  his  enemies. 

The  late  Major  John  G.  Bourke,  of  the  United 
States  army,  one  of  the  ablest  ethnologists  as  regards 
the  aborigines  of  this  country,  says:*  "In  the 

*  On  the  Border  with  Crook.  By  John  Gr.  Bourke,  Captain 
Third  Cavalry,  U.  S.  A.  New  York :  Charles  Scribner's  Sons,  1891. 
Page  114. 


266  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Apache  the  Spaniard,  whether  as  soldier  or  priest, 
found  a  foe  whom  no  artifice  could  terrify  into  sub- 
mission, whom  no  eloquence  could  wean  from  the  su- 
perstition of  his  ancestors.  Indifferent  to  the  bullets 
of  armor-clad  soldiers  and  serenely  insensible  to  the 
arguments  of  friar  and  priest,  who  claimed  spiritual  do- 
minion over  all  other  [Indian]  tribes,  the  naked  Apache 
with  no  weapon  save  his  bow  and  arrows,  lance,  war 
club,  knife,  and  shield,  roamed  over  a  vast  empire,  the 
lord  of  the  soil — fiercer  than  the  fiercest  of  tigers, 
wilder  than  the  wild  coyote  he  called  his  brother."  His 
habitat,  over  which  he  swept  almost  at  will  in  defiance 
of  the  Spaniards  and  Mexicans  for  over  two  hundred 
years,  included  the  Mexican  states  of  Sonora  and  Chi- 
huahua, the  western  portion  of  the  State  of  Texas,  and 
the  Territories  of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  an  area 
greater  than  that  of  France  and  the  German  Empire 
combined.  It  is  but  scant  justice  to  say  that  when  the 
United  States  first  obtained  possession  of  the  Terri- 
tories of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  which  were  occupied 
by  certain  Apache  bands,  that,  so  far  as  the  record 
shows,  they  were  not  unfriendly  and  seemed  disposed  to 
live  peaceably  with  our  people,  and  it  was  a  most 
wanton,  brutal,  and  unprovoked  murder  of  an  Apache 
warrior  by  a  Mexican  teamster  who  was  employed  by 
the  United  States  commissioner,  a  Mr.  Bartlett,  who 
deliberately  and  wilfully  shot  an  Apache  warrior 
dead  without  the  slightest  excuse,  that  was  the  origin 
of  our  Apache  wars.  Even  then  the  Apache  chiefs 
made  no  attempt  at  reprisals,  but  appealed  to  the  com- 
missioner for  justice,  and  patiently  awaited  his  decision. 
For  this  unprovoked,  wilful,  and  deliberate  murder 
Commissioner  Bartlett  thought  a  fine  of  thirty  dollars, 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  267 

to  be  retained  in  monthly  instalments  from  the  team- 
ster's pay  and  turned  over  to  the  warrior's  family,  was 
sufficient  compensation.  Forty-eight  hours  after  the 
promulgation  of  Bartlett's  decision  the  Apaches  swept 
the  whole  Arizona  frontier,  burning  and  killing  wher- 
ever they  could  find  a  settler's  ranch,  an  isolated  trav- 
eller, or  a  group  of  prospecting  miners,  and  the  fire- 
blackened  and  desolated  border  for  hundreds  of  miles 
established  the  fact  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  tribe 
an  Apache  warrior's  life  was  worth  decidedly  more  to 
them  than  thirty  dollars.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  say  what  the  result  would  have  been  if  Mr.  Bartlett 
had  shown  the  nerve  and  keen  sense  of  justice  to  im- 
panel a  border  jury,  try  the  teamster,  and  if  he  was  con- 
victed have  executed  him;  but  it  is  among  the  possi- 
bilities that  such  action  upon  his  part  might  have  saved 
us  years  of  border  warfare  and  the  lives  of  hundreds  of 
frontiersmen  and  their  families,  to  say  nothing  of  many 
of  our  best  and  bravest  soldiers  as  well  as  millions  of 
Government  treasure. 

The  Apaches  are  of  two  distinct  types.  Some  of 
of  them  are  tall,  slight,  exceedingly  well  formed,  with 
aquiline  noses,  long  heads,  well-rounded  chins,  well- 
shaped  lips,  firm  mouths,  and  bold  flashing  eyes.  Oth- 
ers are  short,  with  broad  shoulders,  deep  chest,  flat 
broad  noses,  with  open  nostrils,  small  keen  dark  eyes, 
thin  lips,  stern  mouth  with  projecting  chin,  and  with 
the  skull  flattened  behind  the  ears.  They  all  have  well- 
developed  and  most  muscular  legs  and  rather  small 
feet.  All  of  the  male  Apaches  whom  I  have  met  have 
cruel  faces,  and  the  determined  mouth  shows  that  no 
mercy  need  be  expected  by  his  enemies.  The  Apache 
is  an  able  soldier,  in  that  he  never  takes  an  unneces- 


268  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

sary  risk  if  he  can  avoid  it,  and  never  lets  his  passion 
get  the  better  of  his  good  judgment;  is  patient,  per- 
severing, tireless,  abstemious,  and  can  subsist  and  make 
available  for  food  material  upon  which  not  only  the 
Caucasian,  but  the  ordinary  American  plains  Indian 
would  surely  starve.  No  enemy  can  conceal  a  trail  so 
that  he  will  not  discover  and  follow  it,  and  when  the 
knows  that  he  is  pursued  he  covers  his  own  trail  so 
that  only  another  Apache  can  discover  and  trace  it. 
In  a  few  words  the  case  of  the  Apache  may  be 
summed  up  thus:  He  was  an  Indian  mountaineer  with 
the  average  mountaineer's  love  of  personal  liberty,  and 
undoubtedly  with  all  the  good  and  bad  qualities  of  one  of 
the  best  specimens  of  the  North  American  aborigine,  but 
the  persistent  attempts  of  the  Spaniards  and  Mexicans 
for  more  than  two  hundred  years  to  enslave  him  devel- 
oped his  worst  qualities,  and  eventually  as  the  Indian 
Ishmaelite  with  the  hand  of  civilization  against  him  he 
became  an  Indian  bandit  with  his  hand  against  civ- 
ilization, and,  in  the  words  of  the  late  General  George 
Crook,  he  developed  into  the  human  tiger,  and  as  such 
we  fell  heir  to  him.  Major  Bourke  thinks  that  the 
Apache  is  the  southernmost  member  of  the  great  Tin- 
neh  family,  which  originally  stretched  across  the  cir- 
cumpolar  portion  of  the  American  continent  from  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific  to  the  western  line  of  Hudson  Bay, 
and  this  family — the  Tinneh — are  still,  and  always  have 
been,  the  ablest  of  the  American  Indian  tribes,  and 
wherever  they  have  come  in  contact  with  other  of  the 
Southern  Indian  tribes  they  have  invariably,  sooner  or 
later,  obtained  control  over  them  owing  to  their  diplo- 
matic astuteness,  personal  daring,  and  their  incessant 
and  unwearying  work  to  gain  the  ascendency.  In  a 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  269 

report  of  Father  Benavides  to  the  King  of  Spain,  dated 
at  Madrid  in  1630  and  written  on  the  priest's  return 
from  New  Spain  (Mexico),  he  says  of  these  Indians, 
classified  as  "  Apaches  de  Xila  (Gila),  Apaches  de  Na- 
vajo,  and  Apaches  Vaqueros,"  that  they  had  caused  no 
serious  disturbance,  and  in  the  Xila  (Gila)  province, 
where  he  (Benavides)  had  been  a  missionary  working 
with  much  success  as  well  as  among  the  Apaches  de 
Navajo,  everything  was  then  at  peace.  This  was  the 
condition  of  affairs  in  1630,  and  two  hundred  and  fif- 
teen years  later,  in  1848,  we  fell  heir  to  the  Apache,  and 
as  the  Territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  slowly  fell 
in  line  with  the  advance  guard  of  civilization,  in  order 
to  protect  our  settlers  and  prevent  their  being  anni- 
hilated or  else  driven  from  the  country,  our  army  was 
compelled  to  take  up  the  task  the  Spaniards  and  Mexi- 
cans had  laid  down,  and  to  enter  on  a  campaign  having 
for  its  object  the  subjugation  of  the  untamed  Apache. 
A  campaign  against  the  Apaches  in  their  eyrie  fast- 
nesses among  the  ragged  Sierra  Madres  could  but  be 
a  series  of  detached  fights.  In  fact,  for  many  years 
and  until  the  various  bands  of  the  whole  tribe  were 
finally  rounded  up,  that  was  all  there  was  to  it,  but  it 
involved  nearly  twenty  years'  heartbreaking  work,  ex- 
hausting privation,  bitter  disappointment,  and  the  loss 
of  many  a  gallant  soldier,  and  was  eventually  accom- 
plished only  when  our  own  troops,  by  persistent  en- 
deavour and  repeated  scouts,  had  mastered  the  general 
trend  of  valley,  stream,  and  canon,  learned  the  loca- 
tion of  the  few  water  holes  in  the  beds  of  the  dry  water 
courses,  the  rare  springs  in  the  hills,  and  the  isolated 
passes  through  the  unexplored  mountain  ranges,  to- 
gether with  the  stern  fact  that  a  trail  once  discovered 


270  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

must  never  be  abandoned,  but  doggedly  hung  to  and 
searched  out,  hour  by  hour,  day  by  day,  week  by  week, 
until  their  quarry'  was  run  to  earth  and  compelled  to 
turn  and  fight,  or  on  very  rare  occasions  cornered  and 
obliged  to  fight  to  a  surrender  or  annihilation. 

Trailing  the  Apache  when  he  had  covered  his  trail 
was  practically  an  impossibility  to  white  men,  but  Gen- 
eral George  Crook,  who  was,  without  doubt,  one  of  the 
very  best  and  ablest  Indian  campaigners  our  Govern- 
ment has  ever  had,  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most 
absolutely  just  and  true  friends  the  Indian  has  ever 
known,  when  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
Department  of  Arizona  adopted  and  put  in  practice  a 
new  course  toward  this  people.  First,  he  personally 
went  over  the  country  and  obtained  all  possible  knowl- 
edge of  it  and  of  the  Apaches.  Then,  by  guaranteeing 
their  safety,  he  finally,  after  much  trouble,  succeeded 
in  getting  some  of  the  leading  Apache  warriors  to  come 
in  for  a  talk.  His  reputation  as  an  honest  and  true 
man  had  reached  even  this  people  in  the  fastnesses  of 
the  Sierras,  and  finally,  after  much  hesitation,  a  few 
of  them  came.  He  told  them  that  their  stay  on  the 
war  path  meant  eventual  extermination.  That  things 
were  changing  in  their  section  of  country  and  civiliza- 
tion was  advancing,  and  would  continue  to  do  so,  and 
set  forth  the  advantages  of  peace,  offered  them  immu- 
nity for  the  past,  and  protection  for  the  future  if  they 
would  surrender  and  settle  down  to  a  peaceful  life. 
Otherwise,  he  must  and  would  fight  them  to  extermina- 
tion. Furthermore,  if  all  the  bands  would  not  accept 
the  offer  of  the  United  States  Government  and  come  in 
he  would  gladly  offer  immunity  to  those  who  would  ac- 
cept it,  and  wished  them,  in  case  the  bad  Indians  would 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  271 

not  give  up  the  war  path,  to  assist  him  in  their  cap- 
ture; that  there  were  hoth  good  and  had  white  men 
and  good  and  bad  Indians,  but  the  good  white  men 
forced  the  bad  ones  to  obey  the  law,  and  he  expected 
that  the  good  Indians  would  assist  him,  just  as  the  good 
white  men  assisted  the  officers  of  the  law  in  keeping 
peace  and  maintaining  order.  Runners  were  sent  out 
to  the  various  bands,  and  in  a  few  months  all  the  well- 
disposed  Indians  came  in  and  surrendered.  After  a 
suitable  length  of  time  he  put  his  troops  in  motion 
against  the  defiant  bands. 

But  when  our  troops  moved  against  them  it  was 
with  this  tremendous  difference:  Each  small  command 
moved  with  eight  or  ten  friendly  Apaches,  duly  en- 
rolled, clothed,  equipped,  and  paid  as  United  States 
scouts.  It  was  the  entering  wedge  that  enabled  us 
eventually  to  conquer  and  subdue  the  Apache.  From 
1865  to  1871  the  troops  in  Arizona  had  been  in  al- 
most constant  turmoil  with  the  Indian  tribes.  They 
seemed  to  be  constantly  on  the  alert  to  attack  the 
settlers,  and  Major  Bourke's  description  of  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  at  Peter  Kitchen's  border  ranch  is 
graphic  enough  to  answer  for  the  whole  Arizona  fron- 
tier. Bourke  writes:  *  "  Peter  Kitchen  has  probably  had 
more  contest  with  the  Indians  than  any  other  settler 
in  America.  He  comes  from  the  same  stock  which  sent 
out  from  the  lovely  vales  and  swales  in  the  Tennessee 
mountains  the  contingent  of  riflemen  who  were  to  cut 
such  a  conspicuous  figure  at  the  battle  of  New  Orleans, 
and  Peter  finds  just  as  steady  employment  for  his  trusty 
rifle  as  ever  was  essential  in  the  delta.  Approaching 

*  On  the  Border  with  Crook,  p.  78. 


272  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Pete  Kitchen's  ranch,  one  finds  himself  in  a  fertile  val- 
ley, with  a  small  hillock  near  one  extremity.  Upon  the 
summit  of  this  has  been  built  the  house  from  which  no 
effort  of  the  Apaches  has  ever  succeeded  in  driving  him. 
There  is  a  sentinel  posted  on  the  roof,  there  is  another 
out  in  the  cienega  [a  marshy  meadow]  with  the  stock, 
and  the  men  ploughing  in  the  bottoms  are  obliged  to 
carry  rifles,  cocked  and  loaded,  swung  to  the  plough 
handles.  Every  man  and  boy  is  armed  with  one  or  two 
revolvers  on  his  hip.  There  are  revolvers  and  rifles  and 
shotguns  along  the  walls  and  in  every  corner.  Every- 
thing speaks  of  a  land  of  warfare  and  of  bloodshed. 
The  title  of  Dark  and  Bloody  Ground  never  fairly  be- 
longed to  Kentucky.  Kentucky  was  never  anything 
...  in  comparison  with  Arizona,  every  mile  of  whose 
surface  could  tells  its  tale  of  horror  were  the  stones  and 
gravel,  the  sagebrush  and  mescal,  the  mesquite  and  the 
yucca  only  endowed  with  speech  for  one  brief  hour. 
Between  Pete  Kitchen  and  the  Apaches  a  ceaseless  war 
was  waged  with  the  advantages  not  all  on  the  side  of 
Kitchen.  His  employees  were  killed  and  wounded,  his 
stock  driven  away,  his  pigs  filled  with  arrows,  and  every- 
thing that  could  be  thought  of  done  [by  the  Apaches] 
to  drive  him  away,  but  there  he  stayed,  unconquered 
and  unconquerable.  Men  like  .  .  .  Pete  Kitchen  merit 
a  volume  by  themselves.  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  were 
full  of  such  people,  not  all  nor  nearly  all  as  determined 
and  resolute  as  Pete.  Strangest  of  all  ...  is  the 
quietness  of  their  manner  and  the  low  tone  in  which 
they  usually  spoke  to  their  neighbours."  Just  here 
I  wish  to  present  a  few  statistics  to  show  the  actual 
necessity  that  compelled  the  army  to  hunt  out,  de- 
stroy, or  capture  this  people.  In  Pima  County,  Ari- 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  2T3 

zona,  in  1868-'69  the  Apaches  killed  fifty-two  white 
settlers  and  wounded  eighteen,  and  in  the  next  year 
killed  forty-seven  and  wounded  six,  and  this  in  only  one 
county.  In  1870  the  Territorial  Delegate  in  Congress, 
Mr.  McCormick,  presented  a  list  of  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  citizens  recently  murdered  by  the  Apaches. 
A  petition  was  sent  to  Congress  by  the  inhabitants  of 
Arizona  praying  for  protection  from  the  Indians,  giv- 
ing the  names,  dates,  and  localities  of  over  four  hundred 
American  citizens  killed  within  less  than  three  years. 
From  these  statements  it  can  be  seen  why  the  army  had 
to  keep  moving  incessantly  in  small  scouting  parties  to 
hunt  these  Indians  down.  In  1868  there  were  no  less 
than  forty-six  scouting  expeditions  sent  against  them  in 
Arizona,  in  which  one  hundred  and  fourteen  Indians 
were  killed,  sixty-one  wounded,  and  thirty-five  captured, 
but  all  this  was  not  accomplished  without  heavy  losses 
to  our  troops  in  both  officers  and  men.  Hunting  them 
out  was  terribly  rough  work;  and  wiping  them  out  when 
brought  to  bay  and  after  they  had  refused  to  surrender, 
though  it  was  an  act  imposed  by  military  necessity, 
was  nevertheless  a  most  dangerous,  grisly,  gruesome, 
and  revolting  task. 

When  the  War  Department  wisely  decided  to  send 
General  George  Crook  to  take  command  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Arizona  it  showed  equally  good  judgment  in 
not  changing  the  troops  on  duty  there  at  the  same  time 
it  changed  the  department  commanders,  for  the  regi- 
ments then  stationed  in  Arizona  had  learned  by  bitter 
experience  just  how  to  handle  themselves  while  cam- 
paigning against  the  wily  Apaches,  and  best  knew  in 
what  way  to  go  about  hunting  them  down.  When  our 
troops  moved  out  from  the  posts  or  camps  in  pursuit 


274  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  the  Indians  they  divested  themselves  of  every  super- 
fluous garment,  and  did  not  load  themselves  down  with 
even  a  single  ounce  of  impedimenta  that  they  could  pos- 
sibly do  without.  In  summer  they  were  almost  as  naked 
as  the  savages  themselves,  and  were  sunburned  to  the 
colour  of  mulattoes,  while  in  place  of  boots  and  shoes 
they  wore  buckskin  moccasins  or  rawhide  sandals  tied 
to  their  feet  with  thongs  of  the  same  material,  which 
enabled  them  to  follow  their  foes  on  the  rocky  trail  at 
night  silently,  and  with  such  sleuthlike  movements 
that  on  several  occasions,  all  undiscovered,  they  traced 
them  to  their  very  lair.  It  was  with  these  seasoned  and 
experienced  troops  that  General  Crook  began  his  winter 
campaign  of  1871-'72  against  the  bands  of  hostile 
Apaches,  who,  despite  all  he  could  do  to  bring  them  to 
peaceful  terms  by  offers  of  immunity  for  past  misdeeds 
and  protection  for  the  future,  refused  to  come  in 'to  the 
agencies,  and  still  defiantly  remained  on  the  war  path. 
They  had  already  attempted  his  assassination  at  a  peace 
talk  at  Camp  Date  Creek,  and  he  now  knew  positively 
that  for  those  who  rejected  all  overtures  of  peace  only 
one  course  was  open  so  far  as  the  Government  was  con- 
cerned, and  he  must  fight  them  to  surrender  or  anni- 
hilation. Accordingly  he  divided  his  forces  into  five 
or  six  fairly  strong  detachments  under  most  capable 
officers.  Each  one  of  these  detachments  had  a  number 
of  Apache  scouts  accompanying  it.  They  were  directed 
to  take  station  within  certain  specified  districts,  to  estab- 
lish a  rendezvous,  and  from  that  point  send  out  friendly 
Apache  trailers  and  on  their  report  move  against  the 
hostile  Apaches,  striking  and  hunting  them  down 
from  five  or  six  different  points  at  nearly  the  same  time, 
thereby  keeping  the  Indians  constantly  on  the  alert  to 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  275 

prevent  themselves  from  being  surprised,  and  subject- 
ing them  to  such  a  continued  apprehension  of  death 
and  disaster  that  he  hoped  the  continued  mental  strain 
might,  in  the  course  of  time,  break  down  their  defiant 
spirit  and  induce  them  to  finally  sue  for  peace.  All  of 
these  separate  detachments  did  good  work  during  the 
ensuing  winter,  but  it  is  only  with  one  of  them  that 
we  will  have  to  do;  and  I  follow  the  fortunes  of  that  es- 
pecial detachment  simply  because  it  will  give  my  readers 
an  account  of  one  of  the  two  most  desperate  fights  of 
that  campaign,  and  show  how  the  troops  had  to  ferret 
out  and  practically  annihilate  some  of  the  Apache  bands 
before  the  hostiles  would  give  up  the  war  path  for  the 
reservation  system. 

Brevet  Major  William  H.  Brown,  captain  of  the 
Fifth  United  States  Cavalry,  was  ordered  from  old 
Camp  Grant  to  take  the  field  against  the  hostiles,  and, 
like  all  the  rest  of  the  detached  commands,  he  was  to 
move  over  and  operate  against  the  Indians  in  the  Tonto 
Basin,  which  in  a  general  sense  includes  all  the  country 
between  the  head  waters  of  the  Gila  and  the  Salt  Rivers 
in  the  valley  or  plain  that  lies  between  the  Mogollon  and 
Final  ranges  of  mountains  in  southeastern  Arizona. 
Major  Brown  was  a  most  capable  officer  (a  promotion 
from  the  ranks)  and  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  much 
experience  in  Indian  affairs.  His  force  consisted  of  two 
companies  of  the  Fifth  Cavalry  and  thirty  Apache 
scouts,  and  he  had  as  his  junior  officers  Captain  A. 
B.  Taylor  and  Lieutenant  Jacob  Almy  of  the  Fifth 
Cavalry,  Lieutenant  J.  M.  Ross  of  the  Twenty-first 
Infantry,  and  Lieutenant  John  G.  Bo'urke  of  the  Third 
Cavalry.  Crossing  the  Final  Mountains,  which  at  that 
season  were  covered  with  snow,  Major  Brown  encamped 


-  276  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  a  small  valley  near  the  northwestern  extremity  of 
the  range.  From  this  place  the  troops  moved  over  the 
various  Apache  trails,  sending  their  Indian  scouts  in 
advance  under  their  guides  and  Indian  interpreters, 
Mclntosh,  Felmar,  and  Antonio  Besias;  but,  although 
the  advance  had  one  or  two  small  skirmishes  with  the 
hostiles,  the  main  body  of  the  command  did  not  get  near 
them.  On  Christmas  Day  Major  Brown's  detachment 
was  joined  by  Captain  James  Burns  of  the  Fifth  Cav- 
alry, in  command  of  Troop  G  of  that  regiment  and 
eighty  Pima  Indian  scouts,  with  Lieutenant  Earl  D. 
Thomas  of  the  same  regiment  as  his  subordinate.  Two 
days  later  Major  Brown  announced  to  his  officers  that 
he  was  about  to  undertake  the  capture  of  one  of  the 
Apache  strongholds,  located  somewhere  in  the  canon  of 
the  Salt  River,  and  which  had  been  frequently  sought 
for  by  the  troops,  but  its  location  had  never  yet  been 
discovered,  although  for  a  long  time  it  had  been  sus- 
pected that  there  were  two  or  three  large  Apache  ran- 
cherias  or  strongholds  somewhere  within  that  gloomy 
defile.  Major  Brown  had  with  his  command  a  friendly 
Apache  scout  called  Nantjee,  who  had  at  one  time  lived 
at  this  stronghold,  and  he  had  agreed  to  guide  the 
troops  there  if  they  would  make  a  night  march,  as  other- 
wise they  would  most  surely  be  seen  and  destroyed  upon 
the  trail,  for  the  Apaches,  if  forewarned,  could  easily  de- 
fend it  against  any  number  that  could  be  sent  to  attack 
them.  Leaving  his  pack  train  in  his  camp,  with  an 
ample  guard  to  protect  it,  together  with  every  man  of 
the  command  not  in  the  highest  physical  condition, 
Major  Brown  and  his  troops,  led  by  Nantjee  and  the 
scouts  and  interpreters,  took  the  trail  at  eight  o'clock 
on  a  cold  starlight  December  night,  and  started  up  and 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  277 

over  the  Mazatzal  Mountains  for  the  hitherto  undis- 
covered Apache  path  in  the  canon  of  Salt  Eiver.  Each 
man  had  his  belt  freshly  refilled  with  cartridges,  and  a 
number  of  unopened  packages  of  cartridges  were  also 
placed  in  his  tightly  rolled  blanket,  which  passed  over 
his  right  shoulder,  and  in  which  was  also  a  small  allow- 
ance of  coffee,  bread,  and  bacon,  and  on  the  outside  of 
it,  wrapped  up  carefully  to  prevent  it  hitting  against 
the  rocks  and  making  a  noise,  was  a  canteen  full  of 
precious  water.  Strict  orders  were  issued  that  not  a 
match  should  be  struck,  a  pipe  lighted,  a  loud  word 
spoken,  or  even  a  cough  allowed  to  escape  from  an}- 
one  while  on  the  march,  and  all  orders  were  passed  back 
from  the  head  of  the  column  in  a  whisper  from  one  man 
to  another  down  the  long  line  which,  Indian  fashion, 
followed  on  the  narrow  trail  in  single  file.  It  was  a 
very  bitter  night,  and  the  men  shivered  somewhat  as 
they  toiled  silently  upward  through  the  almost  total 
darkness,  each  man  seeking  to  plant  his  feet  in  the  foot- 
steps of  the  man  who  preceded  him.  Now  and  then  the 
head  of  the  column  halted  until  the  rear  guard  came  up, 
and  toward  morning  the  scouts  reported  that  they  had 
seen  a  light  ahead  of  them.  So  the  command  was 
stopped  on  the  trail  to  wait  for  further  developments. 
In  a  short  time  scouts  Mclntosh  and  Felmar  came  back 
with  the  information  that  the  light  they  had  seen  must 
have  been  made  by  a  band  of  Apaches  who  had  evidently 
been  raiding  the  whites  and  peaceful  Pima  Indians  in 
the  Gila  Valley,  and  had  just  passed  through  the 
mountain  above  on  their  return  to  their  stronghold  with 
their  plunder;  that  they  had  left  a  number  of  played- 
out  horses  and  mules  in  a  little  depression  on  the  moun- 
tain side  and  gone  on  to  their  rancheria,  and  from  all 
19 


278  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

indications  probably  within  a  very  short  time.  Major 
Brown  ordered  Captain  Burns,  with  Troop  G  of  the 
Fifth  Cavalry  and  his  Pima  Indian  scouts,  to  go  to 
where  the  abandoned  horses  were  and  hark  back  on  the 
trail  in  case  any  more  Apaches  were  coming  up.  He 
then  ordered  Lieutenant  Boss  of  the  Twenty-first  In- 
fantry to  take  fifteen  enlisted  men,  together  with  all 
the  mule  packers  who  had  come  along  as  volunteers 
and  who  were  excellent  shots,  to  go  ahead  on  the  trail, 
led  by  Nantjee  and  scouts  Mclntosh  and  Felmar,  to 
prevent  any  attempt  at  a  surprise  in  that  direction,  as 
it  would  soon  be  light,  and  the  situation  was  not  par- 
ticularly reassuring.  In  the  meantime  he  would  form 
up  his  command  and  await  a  report  from  Lieutenant 
Ross  as  to  what  was  in  his  immediate  front.  Nantjee, 
who  seemed  confident  enough,  led  the  advance  down 
along  the  steep  and  dangerous  trail  into  Salt  River 
Canon.  It  was  a  dark,  gloomy,  and  cavernous  place, 
with  just  the  flickering  glimmer  of  light  that  foreshad- 
ows dawn  to  indicate  the  narrow  path  that  zigzagged 
down  along  the  face  of  the  cliff,  but  Nantjee  trod  it 
boldly  and  confidently,  even  if  silently  and  anxiously. 
He  was  closely  followed  by  the  scouts  Mclntosh  and 
Felmar,  while  Lieutenant  Ross,  at  the  head  of  his 
trailers,  followed  quietly  on  a  few  feet  in  their  rear. 
They  had  not  gone  much  more  than  six  hundred  yards 
from  the  main  body  when  Nantjee  suddenly  held  up 
his  hand  in  warning,  and  the  command  instantly 
stopped  on  the  trail.  Standing  perfectly  still,  Nantjee 
leaned  forward,  evidently  listening  intently.  A  moment 
later  he  turned  to  Mclntosh,  who  was  almost  touching 
him,  and  whispered  "Apache."  Motioning  the  others 
to  stand  fast,  Nantjee,  Mclntosh,  and  Felmar  crept 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  279 

slowly  forward  to  where  there  was  a  turn  in  the  trail, 
knelt  down,  and  glanced  carefully  around  it.  Then  they 
drew  back  and  motioned  Lieutenant  Eoss  forward.  One 
quick  glance,  and  Ross  had  taken  it  all  in.  Less  than 
forty  yards  beyond  the  angle  in  the  trail  behind  which  he 
was  crouching  was  the  Apache  stronghold.  About  four 
hundred  feet  from  the  crest  of  the  rocky  wall  of  the 
canon  was  the  wide  mouth  of  an  open  cavern.  A  few 
feet  in  front  of  this  opening  was  a  natural  rampart  of 
almost  continuous  great  blocks  of  stone  ten  to  twelve 
feet  higher  than  the  trail  that  led  up  to  it,  and  just 
at  the  mouth  of  the  cavern,  in  full  view  by  the  light  of 
a  camp  fire,  was  a  band  of  warriors  singing  and  dancing, 
while  half  a  dozen  squaws  were  busy  cooking  them  a 
meal  on  their  return,  red-handed,  from  their  raid  in 
the  Gila  Valley.  After  a  whispered  consultation  the 
men  silently  crept  forward  on  the  trail,  and,  under  in- 
structions from  Lieutenant  Ross,  each  man  carefully 
cocked  his  piece,  then  by  the  light  of  the  Indians'  camp 
fire  he  singled  out  the  Indian  that  was  his  best  mark, 
and  at  the  word  all  fired  together.  The  crack  of  the 
rifles  and  the  deafening  echo  of  the  canon  was  succeeded 
by  wild  shrieks  from  the  startled  Indians  as  six  of  their 
braves  fell  dead  at  the  first  fire.  The  frightened  savages 
for  a  moment  or  two  sought  only  safety  in  the  interior 
of  the  cavern  and  behind  the  natural  stone  rampart  in 
front  of  it,  but  Lieutenant  Ross  and  his  men  continued 
to  fire  as  rapidly  as  possible  into  the  open  cave  and  at 
any  Indian  brave  whom  they  could  see.  Within  less  than 
three  minutes,  however,  the  astonished  Apaches  began 
to  rally,  and,  grasping  their  rifles,  commenced  to  reply 
to  the  fire  of  their  assailants,  whom  as  yet  they  could 
only  dimly  see  in  the  early  morning  light.  About  this 


280  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

time,  however,  Lieutenant  Bourke,  at  the  head  of  forty 
or  fifty  men,  came  rushing  and  leaping  down  the  narrow 
and  dangerous  trail  with  a  recklessness  only  warranted 
by  the  desperate  need  that  Eoss  might  have  for  re-en- 
forcements, Major  Brown  having  thrown  Bourke  and 
his  men  forward  instantly  on  hearing  the  echoing  roar 
from  Salt  River  Canon  that  told  them  Ross  was  engaged 
with  the  Apaches,  and  Bourke  came  none  too  soon  to 
save  Lieutenant  Ross  and  his  men  from  a  counter-attack 
by  the  savages.  In  a  few  moments  Ross  and  Bourke 
had  taken  position  on  either  flank  of  the  Apaches'  cave 
and  sheltered  their  men  behind  the  adjacent  rocks,  so 
that  they  were  comparatively  safe  from  the  Apaches' 
fire.  It  soon  became  evident  that  some  of  the  Indians 
were  about  to  try  to  make  their  way  out  of  the  cave  by 
one  flank  or  the  other,  probably  with  the  intention  of 
communicating  with  some  one  of  the  other  rancherias 
which  was  supposed  to  be  somewhere  in  the  Salt  River 
Canon,  probably  within  a  few  miles  of  the  one  now 
being  attacked.  Lieutenant  Bourke  had  been  told  by 
Major  Brown  not  to  attempt  to  do  anything  more  than 
hold  the  Indians,  in  case  he  found  they  had  attacked 
Lieutenant  Ross,  until  he  could  get  up  with  the  rest  of 
the  troops.  So  Bourke  and  Ross  simply  kept  up  a  sharp 
fire  on  the  enemy's  flanks  and  waited.  They  did  not 
have  to  wait  long,  for  the  major  soon  made  his  appear- 
ance with  the  rest  of  his  command,  and  at  once  assumed 
control.  Just  as  the  reserve  had  appeared  one  of  the 
Apaches  endeavoured  to  crawl  through  the  rocks  around 
the  right  flank.  He  had  almost  succeeded,  but  he 
could  not  resist  giving  a  war  whoop  of  defiance  from 
a  high  rock,  which  drew  a  shot  from  some  one  of  the 
men  that  instantly  killed  him.  After  realigning  his 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  281 

troops  behind  the  rocks  directly  fronting  the  enemy's 
position,  Major  Brown  formed  a  second  line  in  their 
rear  and  on  their  flanks,  completely  covering  them  in 
front  and  flank.  Besides,  he  wished  his  second  line  to 
be  able  to  turn  and  face  a  new  enemy  in  case  of  a  rear 
attack  by  any  Apaches  who  might  come  to  the  rescue  of 
these  beleaguered  ones  from  any  rancherias  that  might 
possibly  be  located  within  a  few  miles,  especially  as  he 
realized  that  the  tremendous  echo  of  the  canon  carried 
the  sound  of  the  combat  for  a  long  distance.  Having 
invested  the  rancheria  so  strongly  that  escape  for  the 
savages  was  practically  impossible,  he  ordered  all  firing 
to  cease,  and  through  his  interpreters  summoned  the 
Apaches  to  an  unconditional  surrender.  Yells  of  rage, 
defiance,  and  threats  was  the  only  reply.  A  second  time 
he  called  upon  them  to  surrender,  the  interpreters  tell- 
ing them  how  hopeless  it  was  for  them  to  think  of 
escape.  The  Apaches  again  defied  him,  saying  that 
they  would  fight  to  the  death,  and  daring  the  troops  to 
come  on.  Major  Brown  then  asked  them  to  let  the 
women  and  children  come  out,  assuring  them  that  he 
would  see  that  they  were  protected  and  treated  kindly. 
This  the  savages  jeered  at,  and  again  defied  the  troops. 
It  is  probable  that  they  expected  help  before  long,  and 
it  may  be  that  otherwise  they  would  have  permitted 
their  women  and  children  to  come  into  our  lines  and 
surrender,  no  matter  what  course  they  might  have  de- 
cided upon  for  themselves.  For  the  next  hour  or  so 
the  two  combatants  closely  watched  each  other,  the 
expert  riflemen  of  either  side  seeking  an  opportunity 
for  a  shot,  but  so  well  were  both  sides  covered  by  lying 
behind  rocks  that  there  were  very  few,  if  any,  casualties 
on  either  side.  The  major  now  decided  upon  another 


282  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

course.  A  direct  assault  would  have  been  too  costly. 
The  rampart  behind  which  the  Apache  warriors  lay  was 
a  smooth  wall  or  line  of  rock  too  high  to  successfully 
escalade  without  ladders,  and  even  then  it  would  have 
been  almost  an  impossibility.  The  cave  where  the  In- 
dians lay  was  not  very  deep,  and  it  was  now  nearly  or 
quite  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  light  enough  to 
see  that  the  roof  of  it  ran  at  such  an  angle  that  rifle 
bullets  fired  at  it  would  deflect  and  glance  so  as  to  injure 
the  occupants.  Accordingly,  the  first  line  was  ordered 
to  open  upon  it  and  rain  bullets  into  the  mouth  of  the 
cave,  so  as  to  hit  the  roof  of  rock  at  the  desired  angle 
to  make  them  glance  downward,  especially  so  as  to  tell 
upon  the  Apache  warriors  who  lay  massed  close  up  to  the 
rocky  rampart  in  front  of  the  cave.  In  less  than  five 
minutes  our  fire  began  to  tell.  The  Apache  warriors 
soon  rose  up  and  began  to  fire  over  the  rampart  at  our 
men,  who  hit  more  than  one  of  them  as  they  thus  ex- 
posed themselves.  Soon  the  wailing  cry  of  women  and 
children  was  heard,  and  Major  Brown  ordered  the  men 
to  cease  firing,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  quiet  enough  to 
make  his  interpreters  heard  he  again  demanded  their 
surrender;  or,  in  case  the  warriors  would  not  surrender, 
he  asked  that  they  at  least  let  the  women  and  children 
come  out.  For  a  few  moments  no  reply  was  made,  and 
all  was  silent.  The  Indians  had  also  ceased  firing,  and 
it  seemed  as  though  they  might  be  consulting  as  to  what 
course  to  take.  Soon,  however,  a  wild,  wailing  song  or 
chant  was  heard,  and  the  interpreters  shouted:  "  That's 
the  death  song!  They  are  going  to  charge.  Look  out! 
They  are  coming!  Here  they  are!"  And  twenty  or 
more  superb-looking  warriors,  fully  armed,  suddenly 
sprang  on  to  the  ramparts  and  delivered  a  volley  at  the 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE. 

men  nearest  them,  while  from  their  rear  another  party 
of  warriors  quickly  sprang  down  and  tried  to  get 
around  the  right  flank,  where  the  warrior  who  so  nearly 
got  away  in  the  morning  tried  to  escape.  Scarcely  had 
they  mounted  the  rampart,  however,  when  nearly  every 
man  on  the  front  line  dashed  from  his  cover  and  made 
straight  for  them,  opening  fire  upon  them  as  they  ad- 
vanced, killing  five  or  six  of  them  and  driving  them 
headlong  off  the  ramparts  and  back  into  the  cave, 
while  the  second  line  headed  off  and  drove  back  those 
who  tried  to  escape  by  the  right  flank.  The  instant  that 
they  were  behind  their  ramparts,  however,  they  again 
renewed  the  fight,  still  singing  and  chanting  the  death 
song. 

Major  Brown  now  brought  all  his  men  up  on  to  the 
first  line,  and  sent  a  perfect  hail  of  bullets  against  the 
roof  of  the  cave,  the  incessant  discharge  of  the  rifles 
sending  up  an  echoing  roar  through  the  canon  that  was 
heard  for  miles  away.  While  this  was  going  on  Captain 
Burns  and  his  command,  who  had  been  sent  back  on  the 
raiding  trail  of  the  Apaches  at  daylight,  and  who  had 
heard  the  firing  and  was  now  on  his  way  to  take  part  in 
the  action  which  he  knew  was  taking  place,  reached  the 
top  of  the  precipice  just  above  the  Apache  stronghold, 
and  stopped  his  men  there  to  get  their  breath  after  the 
exhausting  climb.  The  uproar  beneath  was  so  tremen- 
dous that  Captain  Burns  and  Lieutenant  Thomas 
leaned  over  the  top  of  the  cliff  to  try  and  see  what  it 
was  all  about.  They  could  just  make  out  that  about 
four  hundred  feet  below  them  there  was  a  shelf  of  rock, 
on  which,  behind  a  natural  rampart,  a  mass  of  Apaches 
were  closely  crowded,  fighting  a  force  in  front  of  them 
which  they  could  not  see.  Within  five  minutes  Captain 


284  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Burns  had  stripped  the  ammunition  belts  oft'  of  half  a 
dozen  of  his  men,  buckled  them  together,  and  had  two 
of  his  men  swung  out  over  the  precipice,  while  eight  or 
ten  muscular  fellows  held  them  there  as  they  opened 
fire  on  the  Apaches  huddled  behind  the  ramparts  below 
with  their  revolvers.  This,  however,  was  too  slow  work, 
and  so,  when  they  had  emptied  their  pistols,  they  hurled 
them  after  the  bullets.  This  gave  the  captain  another 
idea,  and  soon  the  whole  command  was  gathering  up 
and  sending  great  boulders  and  masses  of  rock  down  the 
sides  of  the  precipice  into  the  now  writhing  mass  of  the 
entrapped  Apaches.  Still  the  Indians  refused  to  sur- 
render, and  held  on  desperately,  continuing  their  de- 
fence against  the  troops,  especially  from  their  left, 
where  their  medicine  man  and  two  or  three  braves  kept 
up  a  steady  fire.  Finally  even  this  gave  out,  and  with 
it  their  shouts  of  defiance  and  war  songs  gradually 
ceased.  Signalling  Captain  Burns  to  discontinue  send- 
ing down  boulders,  Major  Brown  waited  for  the  dust 
and  smoke  to  subside,  and  then  ordered  an  assault.  As 
the  troops,  rifle  in  hand,  sprang  forward  and  entered  the 
cave  by  the  trail  on  each  flank  of  the  rampart  they  saw 
that  the  fight  was  over.  The  places  behind  the  ramparts 
and  the  cave  were  both  filled  with  a  dead  and  writhing 
mass  of  humanity.  Thirty-five  living  people  were  taken 
out,  but  numbers  of  them  were  mortally  wounded.  All 
the  warriors  were  dead,  dying,  or  badly  wounded. 
Large  quantities  of  plunder  and  supplies  were  found 
here,  among  which  were  articles  taken  from  the  ranches 
in  the  Gila  Valley  which  had  been  attacked,  plundered, 
and  the  inhabitants  killed  only  two  days  before  by  the 
very  band  whose  home-coming  trail  Lieutenant  Eoss 
had  followed  to  the  cave  that  very  morning. 


ARIZONA  AND  THE  APACHE.  285 

A  campaign  against  the  Apache  with  men  of  the 
calibre  of  those  who  trailed  up  and  attacked  these  Indi- 
ans could  have  but  one  termination.  Eventually  they 
all  came  in  and  surrendered,  for  they  realized  that  with 
some  of  their  own  people  to  trail  them,  and  the  Ameri- 
can troops  to  follow,  it  was  only  a  question  of  time 
when  those  who  were  hostile  would  be  exterminated. 
On  the  surrender  of  the  tribe  they  were  put  at  work 
under  army  officers  to  raise  grain  and  earn  their  own 
living.  This  they  proceeded  to  do  successfully.  Then 
the  peace  commissioners  interfered,  removed  them  to 
a  reservation  totally  unsuited  to  them,  and  the  final 
outcome  was  that  in  1885,  twelve  years  later,  another 
Apache  outbreak  gave  us  great  trouble,  and  seventy- 
three  white  settlers  were  killed  in  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona,  and  it  took  over  two  years  of  incessant  cam- 
paigning in  the  two  Territories  and  across  the  Mexican 
border  to  finally  round  up  Geronimo  and  the  renegades, 
which  was  eventually  accomplished  by  the  troops  under 
General  Miles's  command. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE   MODOC   WAR   IN   OREGON. 

THE  Modoc  war  in  Oregon  in  1872  and  the  Nez 
Perce  campaign,  which  began  in  the  same  State  in  1877, 
stand  out  so  prominently  in  the  history  of  border  war- 
fare in  the  "West  that  they  can  not  well  be  ignored 
in  a  sketch  of  the  work  of  the  army  on  our  frontier 
within  the  last  thirty  years.  I  shall,  however,  only 
write  of  the  Modoc  campaign  in  this  chapter.  The 
Modocs  are  an  offshoot  of  the  Klamath  tribe  of  Indi- 
ans, and  when  the  trouble  between  them  and  the  Gov- 
ernment developed  into  war  they  were  living  in  what  is 
known  as  Lost  River  Basin  and  located  in  camps  on 
both  sides  of  Lost  River,  which  is  in  the  extreme  south- 
ern edge  of  the  State  of  Oregon,  close  to  the  California 
line,  and  not  very  far  from  the  old  trail,  on  which  had 
been  established  the  first  Government  road  between 
Oregon  and  California. 

For  many  years  preceding  the  Modoc  war  this 
section  of  country  had  been  the  scene  of  bloody  en- 
counters between  the  Indians  and  the  white  settlers, 
eventuating  in  brutal  massacres  on  the  side  of  both 
the  whites  and  Indians,  with  the  result  that  both 
peoples  learned  to  distrust  each  other,  and  conse- 
quently bad  blood  had  existed  between  them  for  a 
long  time.  In  1864  a  treaty  was  made  between  the 
286 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  287 

Klamaths,  the  Yakoskin  Snakes,  and  the  Modocs  by 
which,  for  certain  considerations,  these  three  tribes 
agreed  to  give  up  the  country  that  they  then  occupied 
and  remove  to  a  certain  allotted  portion  of  Oregon  set 
aside  for  them  and  termed  the  Klamath  Eeservation. 
Now  the  Klamaths  were  a  very  much  larger  and  more 
powerful  tribe  than  the  Modocs  and  very  unfriendly 
toward  them — in  fact,  they  were  almost  at  war  with 
each  other;  consequently  when  the  Modocs,  in  compli- 
ance with  the  treaty,  took  up  their  residence  on  the 
Klamath  Reservation  and  began  to  build  huts  and  till 
the  ground,  the  Klamaths  threatened,  insulted,  and 
annoyed  them  to  the  very  verge  of  actual  war,  telling 
them  that  they  were  too  poor  to  have  a  reservation  of 
their  own  and  had  to  live  upon  the  lands  of  the  Kla- 
maths. Their  actions  became  so  unbearable  that  the 
Modocs  left  the  reservation  and  went  back  to  their  old 
homes  in  the  Lost  River  Basin.  Naturally  this  in- 
censed the  settlers,  who  had  come  into  that  section  and 
occupied  it  as  soon  as  the  Indians  had  left  it,  and  who 
distrusted  all  Indians,  especially  the  Modocs,  who 
roamed  around  a  great  deal  and  were  restless  and  at 
that  period  unsettled  in  their  daily  life.  The  treaty  of 
1864  was  not  ratified  until  1869,  and  in  the  meantime 
the  Modocs  remained  in  the  Lost  River  Basin  country, 
but  always  against  the  protest  of  the  whites  living  near 
there,  who  wished  to  get  rid  of  them  as  neighbours. 
Finally,  on  renewed  promises  from  the  Indian  agent 
that  he  would  protect  them  from  the  Klamaths,  they 
agreed  to  go  back  to  the  Klamath  Reservation  and  take 
up  their  abode  there.  This  they  did  in  1869,  and  went 
to  work  to  hut  themselves,  cultivate  the  ground,  and 
make  their  homes  there.  Again  the  Klamaths  began 


288  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

to  persecute  and  insult  them,  and  on  the  Modocs' 
complaint  of  the  Klamaths  to  the  Indian  agent,  in- 
stead of  disciplining  the  Klamaths,  he  coolly  re- 
moved the  Modocs  to  another  locality,  thereby 
causing  them  to  lose  all  their  labour,  and,  worse 
than  all,  established  the  fact  that  the  Indian  agent 
favoured  the  Klamaths  as  against  the  Modocs.  How- 
ever, they  again  went  to  work  to  establish  them- 
selves comfortably  on  the  new  location  assigned  them 
by  the  agent.  But  the  Klamaths  for  the  third  time 
followed  them  up,  threatened,  and  insulted  them, 
taunting  them  as  outcasts,  unable  to  live  upon  land 
that  belonged  to  them,  but  compelled  to  ask  charity 
at  their  hands  (when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Modocs 
had  equal  rights  with  the  Klamaths  upon  the  reserva- 
tion), and  became  so  unbearable  that  the  Modocs  once 
more  appealed  to  the  Indian  agent  for  protection.  In- 
stead of  protecting  them,  he  directed  them  to  look  up 
another  locality  upon  the  reservation.  The  leader  or 
chief  of  the  Modocs  could  not  find  a  suitable  place,  so 
they  left  the  reservation  again,  and  the  tribe  went 
back  to  their  old  home  in  the  Lost  Eiver  Basin  and  once 
more  took  up  their  residence  there. 

In  the  meantime,  this  country  having  been  thrown 
open  to  settlement  with  the  assurance  that  the  In- 
dians had  finally  surrendered  all  claim  to  it,  had,  dur- 
ing the  time  the  Modocs  had  lived  on  the  Klamath 
Reservation,  been  occupied  more  extensively  than  ever 
by  new  settlers,  who  were,  perhaps  naturally  enough, 
indignant  and  angry  at  the  Modocs  for  returning  to  it. 
Complaints  and  petitions  were  sent  to  the  Indian  agent, 
the  Indian  Bureau  in  Washington,  and  to  Brigadier- 
General  E.  R.  S.  Canby,  then  stationed  at  Portland, 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  289 

Ore.,  the  commander  of  the  Department  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, within  whose  jurisdiction  these  Indians  were 
located,  alleging  that  the  Modocs  were  insolent,  over- 
bearing, and  threatening,  stating  that  they  had  de- 
stroyed some  of  the  property  of  the  settlers,  and  that 
their  presence  in  that  section  was  a  constant  menace, 
and  asking  for  their  removal  to  the  Klamath  Reser- 
vation,  where  they  properly  belonged  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  treaty  of  1864.  General  Canby,  a  splen- 
did soldier  and  a  wonderfully  well-balanced  man,  after 
careful  inquiry  saw  that  there  was  the  Indian  side  of 
the  question  as  far  as  regarded  these  Modocs  being  sent 
back  to  the  Klamath  Reservation.  He  suggested  that 
perhaps  it  would  be  best  to  apportion  a  small  reserva- 
tion to  the  Modocs  outside  of  the  Klamath  Reservation, 
where  they  would  not  be  subjected  to  the  insults  of 
the  Klamaths  and  might  live  peaceably  and  content- 
edly, safe  from  Klamath  persecution. 

This  action  on  the  general's  part  did  not  meet  with 
the  approval  of  the  Indian  agent,  the  settlers,  nor  the 
Indian  Bureau.  The  Superintendent  of  Indian  Af- 
fairs, however,  sent  commissioners  to  the  Modocs  to  try 
and  induce  them  to  once  more  go  back  to  the  Klamath 
Reservation.  This  they  positively  refused  to  do,  and 
asked  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  stay  where  they 
were  until  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  could 
come  out  himself  and  see  them,  so  the  commissioners 
returned  without  accomplishing  the  object  of  their 
mission.  The  pressure  from  the  settlers  for  their  re- 
moval continued,  and  the  Indian  agent  urged  that  they 
be  compelled  to  go  back  to  the  Klamath  Reservation, 
even  if  it  involved  their  being  forced  on  to  it  by  the 
military  authorities. 


290  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

On  January  25,  1872,  Mr.  A.  B.  Meacham,  the 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  in  Oregon,  wrote 
General  Canby  urging  that  the  Modocs  be  removed 
to  Yainax  Station,  on  the  Klamath  Eeservation,  if 
necessary,  by  force,  and  inclosed  a  petition  signed  by 
nearly  all  the  settlers  in  Lost  River  Basin  urging  the 
same  thing.  General  Canby  replied  courteously,  but 
said  that  in  his  opinion  "  it  would  not  be  expedient 
or  politic  to  send  a  military  force  against  these  In- 
dians, or  at  least  until  [they  were]  notified  of  the  de- 
termination of  the  Government  of  the  point  at  which 
they  are  to  be  established,  and  fully  warned  that  they 
will  be  treated  as  enemies  if,  within  a  reasonable  and 
specified  time,  they  do  not  establish  themselves  as  re- 
quired." 

This  mode  of  action  was  too  slow  for  the  agent 
and  the  settlers,  and,  notwithstanding  General  Canby 
did  all  that  he  consistently  could  to  urge  a  new  and 
separate  reservation  for  the  Modocs,  it  was  not  done. 
On  the  25th  of  November,  1872,  Mr.  F.  B.  Odeneal, 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for  Oregon,  wrote  to 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Frank  Wheaton,  who  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  District  of  the  Lakes,  that  he  had  come 
to  the  Klamath  agency  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
the  Modoc  Indians  upon  the  Klamath  Reservation; 
that  he  was  acting  under  the  written  authority  of  the 
honourable  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  a  copy  of 
which  is  as  follows:  "You  are  directed  to  move  the 
Modoc  Indians  to  Camp  Yainax  on  Klamath  Reserva- 
tion, peaceably  if  you  can,  forcibly  if  you  must ";  and 
he  called  upon  the  district  commander  to  be  ready  to 
aid  him  with  the  United  States  troops  in  case  the  Indi- 
ans refused  to  go. 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  291 

Colonel  Wheaton  wrote  to  the  commanding  offi- 
cer at  Fort  Klamath,  authorizing  him  to  furnish  the 
agent  a  sufficient  force  to  carry  out  his  instructions 
in  case  it  became  necessary.  On  November  27th 
Mr.  Odeneal  wrote  to  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort 
Klamath,  stating  that  "the  Modocs  defiantly  de- 
cline to  meet  me  at  this  place."  They  authorized  him 
(OdeneaPs  messenger  to  the  Modocs)  "  to  say  that  they 
did  not  desire  to  see  or  talk  with  me,  and  that  they 
would  not  go  upon  the  Klamath  Keservation."  He  then 
requested  the  commanding  officer  at  the  fort  to  send  a 
sufficient  force  to  attain  the  object  in  accordance  with 
the  orders  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  hop- 
ing that  the  military  might  be  able  to  accomplish  the 
removal  without  the  shedding  of  blood  If,  however, 
force  had  to  be  used,  he  requested  the  arrest  of  Captain 
Jack,  the  head  of  the  band,  Black  Jim,  and  Scar-faced 
Charley,  who  were  to  be  held  subject  to  his  orders. 
Captain  Jack's  band  of  Modocs  probably  contained  at 
the  time  rather  more  than  fifty  warriors.  Without 
notifying  General  Canby  or  Colonel  Wheaton  of  his 
contemplated  action,  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort 
Klamath  detailed  Captain  James  Jackson's  Troop  B,  of 
the  First  Cavalry,  to  carry  out  the  instructions  of  the 
Indian  agent. 

Captain  Jackson,  in  his  official  report,  says: 

"  I  jumped  the  camp  of  Captain  Jack's  Modoc  Indi- 
ans yesterday  morning  soon  after  daylight,  completely 
surprising  them.  I  demanded  their  surrender  and  dis- 
arming and  asked  for  a  parley  with  Captain  Jack. 
Captain  Jack,  Scar-faced  Charley,  Black  Jim,  and  some 
others  would  neither  lay  down  their  arms  nor  surren- 
der. Some  of  them  commenced  making  hostile  demon- 


292  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

strations  against  us,  and  finally  opened  fire.  I  imme- 
diately poured  volley  after  volley  among  the  hostile 
Indians,  took  their  camp,  killed  eight  or  nine  warriors, 
and  drove  the  rest  into  the  hills.  During  the  engage- 
ment I  had  one  man  killed  and  seven  wounded,  three 
of  the  last  severely  and  perhaps  dangerously.  The  band 
that  I  attacked  was  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  An- 
other smaller  band  on  the  north  side  was  attacked  by 
a  party  of  ten  or  twelve  citizens  and  their  surrender 
demanded,  but  when  the  firing  commenced  in  Captain 
Jack's  camp  these  Indians  opened  on  the  citizens  and 
drove  them  to  the  refuge  of  Crawley's  ranch.  One  citi- 
zen was  killed  during  the  fight,  and  two  others  coming 
up  the  road,  unconscious  of  any  trouble,  were  shot,  one 
(Mr.  Nuss)  mortally  wounded,  and  the  other  (Joe  Pen- 
nig)  badly.  My  force  was  'too  weak  to  pursue  and  cap- 
ture the  Indians  that  made  off,  owing  to  the  necessity 
of  taking  immediate  care  of  my  wounded  and  protect- 
ing the  few  citizens  that  had  taken  refuge  at  Crawley's 
ranch.  The  Indians  were  all  around  us,  and,  apprehen- 
sive of  a  rear  attack,  I  destroyed  Captain  Jack's  camp 
and  crossed  to  the  other  side  of  the  river  by  the  ford,  a 
march  of  fifteen  miles,  taking  post  at  Crawley's  ranch, 
where  I  now  am.  I  need  re-enforcements  and  orders  as 
to  future  course,"  etc. 

The  Modoc  war  was  now  on,  and  Captain  Jack's 
band  immediately  fell  upon  some  of  the  nearest  settlers 
and  murdered  them  and  then  fled  into  their  fastness 
in  what  was  known  as  the  lava  beds  south  of  and  near 
Tule  Lake. 

These  lava  beds  had  been  the  roaming  ground  of 
the  Modocs  for  many  years,  and  they  knew  them  thor- 
oughly, and  no  one  else  knew  anything  about  them. 
In  fact,  it  is  doubtful  if  any  white  man  had  penetrated 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  293 

this  section  of  country  at  any  time  before  the  Modoc 
war,  and  it  was  so  peculiar  and  unusual  in  its  forma- 
tion that  it  took  our  troops  many  days  after  they  had 
campaigned  in  it  to  comprehend  its  great  natural  ad- 
vantages as  a  place  of  refuge  and  defence  for  the  Mo- 
docs.  At  the  first  glance  it  appears  to  be  a  level  stretch 
of  country,  four  or  five  miles  wide  and  nearly  eight 
miles  in  length,  covered  with  sagebrush,  but  on  at- 
tempting to  travel  over  it  one  finds  that  it  is  broken 
now  and  then  by  a  series  of  low  rocky  ridges  that  occur 
here  and  there  in  groups  and  rise  from  ten  to  twenty 
feet  above  the  surrounding  country.  These  ridges  are 
split  open  at  the  top,  leaving  a  space  from  five  to  eight 
feet  wide  between  the  two  almost  solid  rock  walls  of 
the  split  ridge,  so  that  a  man  can  walk  or  crawl  from 
one  end  to  the  other  without  being  seen  by  any  one  in 
his  immediate  vicinity.  Many  of  these  rocky  ridges  are 
connected  with  each  other  by  small  transverse  rocky 
ridges  of  an  exactly  similar  nature,  so  that  any  one 
could  pass  from  one  group  of  ridges  to  another  in 
perfect  safety  from  the  bullets  of  an  enemy  if  he  thor- 
oughly understood  the  nature  of  the  ground.  Some  of 
these  transverse  ridges,  however,  are  a  perfect  cul-de- 
sac,  terminating  in  ravines  more  than  a  hundred  feet 
deep,  which  sometimes  lie  between  the  ridges,  but  are 
absolutely  invisible  until  one  is  within  a  few  feet  of 
them. 

Selecting  the  most  difficult  of  these  ridges,  and 
building  stone  walls  five  or  six  feet  in  height  to  better 
connect  the  transverse  ridges  with  his  stronghold,  Cap- 
tain Jack  got  together  his  people  and  prepared  to  de- 
fend himself  against  the  troops,  which  he  knew  would 

soon  be  sent  against  him.    He  probably  had  with  him 
20 


294  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  his  stronghold  at  least  eighty  well-armed  warriors, 
with  an  abundance  of  ammunition,  a  fair  amount  of 
provisions,  and  perhaps  nearly  or  quite  two  hundred 
women  and  children.  The  seepage  through  the  lava 
beds  of  the  three  adjacent  lakes — Clear,  Tule,  and 
Klamath — which  are  about  eight  miles  apart,  gave  him 
an  abundance  of  pure  water,  and  it  was  not  at  first 
a  very  difficult  thing  for  some  of  his  warriors  to  steal 
out  through  the  ravines  and  crevices  toward  the  set- 
tlements and  return  with  information  and  food.  In  the 
meantime  the  district  commander,  General  Frank 
Wheaton,  a  most  capable  and  experienced  officer,  was 
ordered  to  find,  attack,  and  capture  Captain  Jack  and 
his  band  of  Modocs,  and  turn  them  over  to  the  Indian 
agent.  On  December  26,  1872,  he  writes  to  the  depart- 
ment commander: 

"  I  shall  move  up  with  the  troops  on  the  west  side, 
three  miles  from  the  Modoc  stronghold,  and  camp,  .  .  . 
and  eventually  close  on  the  Modoc  cave  or  fortifica- 
tion." 

On  January  5,  1873,  he  writes  again: 

"  After  all  our  annoying  delays  we  are  now  in  better 
condition.  .  .  .  We  leave  for  Captain  Jack's  Gibraltar 
to-morrow  morning,  and  a  more  enthusiastic,  jolly  set 
of  regulars  and  volunteers  I  never  have  had  the  pleas- 
ure to  command.  If  the  Modocs  will  only  make  good 
their  boast  to  whip  a  thousand  all  will  be  satisfied.  .  .  . 
Our  scouts  and  friendly  Indians  insist  that  the  Modocs 
will  fight  us  desperately,  but  I  don't  understand  how 
they  can  think  of  attempting  any  serious  resistance." 

His  force  consisted  of  three  troops  of  the  First 
United  States  Cavalry  (B,  F,  and  G),  two  companies  (C 
and  B)  of  the  Twenty-first  Infantry,  and  a  detachment 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  295 

of  twenty  men  of  F  Company  of  the  same  regiment, 
supplemented  by  two  companies  of  Oregon  Volunteer 
Infantry  (A  and  B)  and  one  other  infantry  company, 
the  Twenty-fourth  California  Volunteer  Eiflemen. 
These  volunteers  were  all  good  men,  very  fair  rifle 
shots,  and,  generally  speaking,  frontiersmen  of  consid- 
erable border  experience.  The  vicinity  of  the  strong- 
hold of  the  Modocs  had  already  been  located  by  friendly 
Indian  scouts,  and  General  Wheaton  issued  a  carefully- 
prepared  order  of  attack,  which,  as  after  observation 
proved,  was  admirably  drawn,  and  left  little  or  nothing 
to  chance. 

In  conformity  with  these  instructions  the  troops 
moved  on  January  16th  for  twelve  miles  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Modoc  stronghold.  Here  part  of  the  in- 
fantry, the  mountain  howitzer  battery,  and  Captain 
Perry's  troop  of  the  First  Cavalry  went  into  camp  about 
three  miles  from  the  Modocs'  position  and  southeast 
of  it.  In  the  meantime  another  part  of  the  force  under 
Captain  Bernard,  of  the  First  Cavalry,  consisting  of 
Troops  B  and  G  and  the  Klamath  Indian  scouts,  moved 
up  from  the  east  side  of  the  Modocs'  position;  the  in- 
tention being  to  attack  them  from  both  the  east  and 
west  side  simultaneously.  He  was  ordered  to  encamp 
within  three  miles  of  their  stronghold  the  night  preced- 
ing the  general  attack,  but  the  fog  was  so  dense  that 
he  ran  upon  the  Indian  outposts  and  had  a  sharp  little 
action,  as  the  Modocs  attacked  him  and  tried  to  capture 
his  supply  train.  Captain  Bernard  drove  them  back, 
however,  and  withdrew  his  command  to  the  place  origi- 
nally intended  and  went  into  camp  for  the  night,  hav- 
ing had  several  men  wounded  in  the  affray.  At  six 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  the  troops  on  the 


296  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

east  and  west  moved  down  into  the  lava  beds,  and,  in 
conformity  to  the  written  instructions  of  the  command- 
ing officer,  pushed  steadily  forward  to  the  attack.  It 
was  very  foggy,  the  ground  was  absolutely  unknown  to 
the  troops,  cut  up  with  rocky  ridges  and  deep  ravines, 
with  sagebrush  high  enough  to  conceal  the  foe  when 
he  dropped  beneath  it,  and  from  every  coign  of  vantage 
a  lurking  Indian  lay  watching  for  an  opportunity  to 
shoot  the  skirmishers  as  they  toiled  slowly  on,  not  see- 
ing an  Indian  until  they  were  fairly  upon  him,  or  else 
found  themselves  opposite  the  muzzle  of  his  rifle  as  he 
poked  it  through  a  rocky  crevice  and  fired  it  almost  in 
their  very  faces.  Still  from  both  sides  the  troops  stead- 
ily drove  the  Modocs  from  ridge  to  ridge  back  to  their 
stronghold,  reaching  within  three  or  four  hundred  yards 
of  the  place  in  about  four  hours'  skirmishing,  it  being 
one  o'clock  in  the  day  when  they  could  fairly  see  it 
and  were  able  to  comprehend  its  great  natural  strength 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  protected  by  deep 
ravines  and  gorges  on  both  sides  of  it.  This  is  what 
General  Wheaton  says  of  it: 

"  The  position  was  on  an  almost  inaccessible  ridge, 
flanked  on  the  east  and  west  by  ravines  and  gorges,  and 
in  the  midst  of  a  mass  of  boulders  and  irregular  fis- 
sures, rocky  elevations,  and  depressions,  evidently  the 
result  of  a  volcanic  upheaval  that  had  rent  and  torn  a 
belt  of  country  ranging  in  width  north  and  south  from 
five  to  eight  miles  and  in  length  from  sixteen  to  twenty- 
two  miles. 


"  At  1.30  P.  M.  Major  Green  informed  me  that  unex- 
pected obstacles  on  the  right  of  our  west  line  had  been 
encountered,  and  that  this  portion  of  his  command 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  297 

rested  near  a  deep  gorge  occupied  by  the  enemy  that 
could  not  be  flanked  or  carried  without  an  immense  sac- 
rifice, and  that  up  to  this  late  hour  in  the  day,  though 
Bernard  had  evidently  been  warmly  engaged  on  the  east 
side  since  8  A.  M.,  his  bullets  frequently  passing  over  us, 
there  seemed  little  or  no  hope  that  we  could  connect  the 
right  of  our  west  with  the  left  of  our  east  line  ...  as 
had  been  intended.  It  was  then  decided  to  change  the 
original  plan  of  attack  by  moving  the  west  skirmish 
line  to  the  left,  near  the  lake  shore  [Little  Klamath 
Lake],  north  of  the  Modocs,  connecting,  if  possible, 
with  Captain  Bernard's  right,  and  assault  the  enemy's 
position  from  the  north  or  lake  side.  .  .  .  This  move- 
ment was  gallantly  made,  the  enemy  contesting  every 
inch  of  ground  and  fighting  behind  their  natural  forti- 
fications, firing  only  through  cracks  and  crevices  in 
the  rocks  as  our  troops  crawled  toward  them,  exposing 
nothing  but  a  puff  of  smoke  for  our  men  to  fire  at,  and 
picking  off  our  most  advanced  skirmishers  with  deadly 
aim.  It  was  found  impossible  with  the  force  engaged 
to  carry  the  enemy's  position.  ...  At  5  P.  M.  it  was 
determined  to  withdraw  the  troops.  .  .  .  Our  opera- 
tions in  the  lava  beds  immediately  around  Captain 
Jack's  camp  were  in  such  a  rough  and  broken  country, 
and  among  rocks  and  boulders  varying  in  size  from  a 
matchbox  to  a  church,  that  it  was  only  with  the  great- 
est difficulty  that  our  wounded,  twenty-eight  in  number, 
could  be  moved." 

The  dead,  ten  in  number,  were  left  where  they  lay. 
In  another  part  of  his  report  General  Wheaton  says: 

"  I  have  been  twenty-three  years  in  service  and 
have  been  employed  a  greater  portion  of  that  time  on 
our  remote  frontier,  and  generally  engaged  in  operating 
against  hostile  Indians.  In  this  service  I  have  never 
before  encountered  an  enemy,  civilized  or  savage,  occu- 


298  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

pying  a  position  of  such  great  natural  strength  as  the 
Modoc  stronghold,  nor  have  I  ever  seen  troops  engage 
a  better  armed  or  more  skilful  foe." 

The  attack  on  the  east  side  of  the  stronghold  had 
been  made  with  equal  persistence  by  Captain  Bernard, 
who  had  fulfilled  all  the  requirements  of  the  order  of 
battle  and  reached  his  designated  position,  driving  the 
Indians  steadily  before  him  back  upon  their  fortifica- 
tions; but  here  he  encountered  a  deep  gorge,  which  was 
filled  with  Indians  and  practically  impassable  with  his 
small  force,  and  furthermore,  until  after  one  o'clock,  he 
was  fighting  in  a  dense  fog,  which  overhung  the  lake 
and  its  vicinity.  After  the  fog  raised  he  was  able  to 
extend  his  right  so  as  to  connect  with  the  troops  attack- 
ing on  the  west,  but  the  Modocs'  position  was  too  strong 
for  the  attacking  force.  Captain  Bernard  says  of  it  in 
his  report:  "  I  have  wished  respectfully  to  say  that  the 
place  the  Indians  occupy  can  not  be  taken  by  a  less 
force  than  seven  hundred  men,  and  to  take  the  place 
by  an  assault  with  this  force  will  cost  half  the  command 
in  killed  and  wounded."  Major  Mason,  of  the  infan- 
try, says  at  the  conclusion  of  his  report:  "  I  will  leave 
it  to  others  to  find  language  to  convey  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  almost  impassable  character  of  the  country 
over  which  these  operations  were  conducted,  and  which 
make  the  Modoc  position  a  second  Gibraltar."  Major 
John  Green,  of  the  First  Cavalry,  says:  "  It  is  utterly 
impossible  to  give  a  description  of  the  place  occupied 
by  the  enemy  as  their  stronghold.  Everything  was  done 
by  officers  and  men  that  could  be  done.  Troops  never 
behaved  better.  They  contended  gallantly  with  an 
enemy  hidden  by  rocks,  deep  gorges,  and  fogs.  We 
tried  it  on  every  side  with  the  same  result."  The  loss 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  299 

to  the  troops  engaged  in  the  attack  on  the  Modocs  was 
forty-one  killed  and  wounded — a  little  more  than  ten 
per  cent  of  the  men  engaged.  The  spirited  defence 
of  the  Modocs  and  the  attendant  loss  of  life  was  evi- 
dently a  great  surprise  to  the  Indian  Bureau,  and  they 
at  once  took  steps  to  stop  further  action  on  the  part  of 
the  army  by  appealing  to  the  President  and  asking  that 
the  troops  be  used  only  for  the  protection  of  the  set- 
tlers, while  an  effort  was  made  by  the  bureau  through 
a  peace  commission  to  try  and  avert  further  blood- 
shed and  prevail  upon  the  Modocs  to  go  upon  the  Kla- 
math  Reservation. 

This  view  of  the  matter  was  submitted  to  General 
Canby,  but  he  replied  in  substance  that  while  he  had 
urged  that  no  military  force  should  be  used  in  their 
case,  and  another  reservation  should  be  selected  and 
given  the  Modocs,  now  that  trouble  had  ensued  and 
the  Modocs  had  raided  the  settlers  and  killed  some  of 
them,  he  thought  it  would  be  best  to  defeat  them  first, 
and  then  the  Government  could  finally  settle  the  ques- 
tion at  issue  in  its  own  way.  He  was  overruled,  how- 
ever, ordered  to  use  the  troops  only  for  protection  of 
the  settlers,  and  a  peace  commission  appointed  to  con- 
fer with  the  Modocs  under  a  white  flag. 

In  order  to  be  on  the  spot  and  see  for  himself  how 
matters  would  develop  through  the  peace  commission- 
ers, General  Canby  joined  his  troops  in  the  lava  beds  on 
the  16th  of  February.  Furthermore,  the  Indian  Bureau 
had  begun  to  appreciate  the  sound  sense  of  the  man 
and  to  doubt  whether  their  commissioners  were  as  well 
qualified  to  settle  the  trouble  as  was  the  department 
commander,  and  on  the  24th  of  March  General  Sher- 
man telegraphed  General  Canby  as  follows: 


300  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

"  Secretary  Delano  [Secretary  of  the  Interior  De- 
partment] is  in  possession  of  all  your  despatches  up  to 
March  16th,  and  he  advises  the  Secretary  of  War  that 
he  is  so  impressed  with  your  wisdom  and  desire  to  fulfil 
the  peaceful  policy  of  the  Government  that  he  author- 
izes you  to  remove  from  the  present  commission  any 
members  you  think  unfit,  to  appoint  others  to  their 
places,  and  to  report  through  us  to  him  such  changes. 
This  naturally  devolves  on  you  the  management  of  the 
entire  Modoc  question,  and  the  Secretary  of  War  in- 
structs me  to  give  you  his  sanction  and  approval." 

The  peace  commission,  however,  had  arrived  on  the 
ground,  opened  negotiations  with  the  Indians,  and  was 
in  almost  daily  communication  with  them  through 
Frank  Eiddle,  an  interpreter,  who  had  married  a 
Modoc  squaw,  a  most  reliable  and  excellent  woman, 
who  accompanied  her  husband  to  and  from  the  Mo- 
doc stronghold.  Judge  Steele,  of  California,  who  had 
always  been  a  great  friend  of  the  Modocs,  went  to 
their  stronghold  twice  and  urged  upon  them  to  come 
out,  have  a  council,  and  see  if  they  could  not  reach  a 
peaceful  solution  of  their  troubles,  but  on  the  last  occa- 
sion if  it  had  not  been  for  two  or  three  especial  friends 
among  the  Indians  he  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
killed.  He  accordingly  warned  the  commissioners  and 
told  them  that  he  thought  that  the  Modocs  meant 
treachery,  and  said  that  in  his  opinion  if  they  could 
get  the  commission,  Colonel  Gillem,  and  General  Canby 
in  their  power  they  would  kill  them. 

On  one  occasion  Captain  Jack's  sister  Mary  came  in 
and  said  that  if  wagons  were  sent  out  to  the  stronghold 
all  the  Indians  would  come  in  and  surrender  in  accord- 
ance with  certain  terms  that  the  commissioners  had 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  301 

offered  them.  Her  proposition  was  at  once  agreed  to, 
but  it  was  negatived  by  another  delegation  who  said 
that  they  wished  further  time  for  consideration. 

In  this  way  the  Indians  and  the  commissioners  con- 
tinued their  negotiations,  but  nothing  was  really  ac- 
complished. Finally,  on  April  2d,  a  meeting  between 
the  commissioners  and  some  of  the  Indians  was  effected, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  a  council  tent  should  be  erected 
about  halfway  between  the  camps  and  the  stronghold, 
where  unarmed  parties  might  meet  for  discussion.  The 
commissioners  met  the  leading  Indians  at  two  different 
times  in  this  tent  for  consultation. 

The  head  of  the  commission  was  Mr.  A.  B.  Meach- 
am,  the  other  members  being  the  Kev.  Dr.  Thomas 
and  L.  S.  Dyer,  an  Indian  agent.  On  the  4th  of  April, 
at  Captain  Jack's  request,  Mr.  Meacham  met  him,  with 
his  wives  and  six  of  his  warriors,  Mr.  Meacham  being 
accompanied  by  Judge  Eoseborough,  J.  A.  Fairchilds, 
and  the  interpreter  Kiddle  and  his  Modoc  wife,  Tobe. 
Captain  Jack  was  very  bitter,  and  the  meeting  availed 
nothing  in  the  way  of  an  agreement  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians  to  surrender. 

On  the  8th  of  April  an  Indian  arrived  saying 
that  six  unarmed  warriors  were  at  the  council  tent 
for  a  peace  talk  and  wished  to  see  the  commissioners, 
but  the  man  at  the  signal  station  reported  armed 
Indians  lying  concealed  in  the  rocks  just  back  of  the 
tent.  In  the  meantime  Riddle,  the  interpreter,  and 
his  wife,  the  Modoc  Tobe,  had  become  convinced  that 
treachery  was  intended  and  had  repeatedly  warned 
the  commissioners  and  General  Canby  and  Colonel  Gil- 
lem  to  that  effect,  so  the  commissioners  on  this  occa- 
sion declined  to  go.  On  the  10th  of  April,  however, 


302  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

two  of  the  Modocs,  Boston  Charley  and  Bogus  Charley, 
arrived  at  General  Canby's  headquarters  and  stated 
that  Captain  Jack  wished  a  meeting  the  next  day  to 
agree  upon  terms  of  surrender,  and  desired  that  all  the 
members  of  the  commission,  General  Canby,  and  Colo- 
nel Gillem,  who  was  the  senior  line  officer  in  immediate 
command  of  the  troops,  should  also  be  present.  Five 
unarmed  Modocs  headed  by  Captain  Jack  would  meet 
them  to  arrange  terms  of  surrender.  Mr.  Meacham, 
the  head  of  the  commission,  was  absent,  but  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Thomas  agreed  for  him  that  they  would  all  go 
(unarmed)  and  meet  the  unarmed  Modocs. 

The  next  morning  the  signal  station  reported  the 
arrival  of  five  unarmed  Modocs  at  the  council  tent.  Col- 
onel Gillem  was  sick  abed  and  could  not  go,  but  Riddle, 
the  interpreter,  and  his  Modoc  wife  protested  strongly 
against  the  meeting.  They  had  no  evidence  to  go  upon, 
but  they  sensed  danger  to  the  whites.  Dr.  Thomas  and 
General  Canby,  however,  thought  it  best  to  go.  Dr. 
Thomas,  conscientiously  anxious  for  peace  and  fearful 
that  if  the  commission  failed  to  attend  the  meeting 
the  peace  negotiations  might  fail,  and  the  failure  might 
arise  from  their  overcaution;  General  Canby,  not  that 
he  believed  the  Modocs  were  not  treacherous,  but  that 
he  thought  that  they  had  too  much  good  sense  to 
court  the  retribution  that  would  surely  follow  in  case 
they  attempted  the  assassination  of  the  commission- 
ers, and  furthermore  he  was  equally  anxious  with  Dr. 
Thomas  for  peace;  Mr.  Meacham,  because  he  thought 
it  his  duty;  and  Mr.  Dyer,  because  he  did  not  wish  to 
show  the  white  feather,  although  he  distrusted  the 
savages.  So  General  Canby,  Mr.  Meacham,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Thomas,  Mr.  Dyer,  and  Riddle,  the  interpreter, 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  303 

and  his  wife  Tobe  went  to  the  council  tent.  An  hour 
later  the  lookout  at  the  signal  station  west  of  the  camp 
signalled  "  Shooting  at  the  council  tent."  The  troops 
were  thrown  forward  at  once.  Kiddle,  the  interpreter, 
and  Dyer,  the  Indian  agent,  came  running  toward  them, 
but  on  reaching  the  vicinity  of  the  tent  they  found 
the  dead  bodies  of  General  Canby  and  the  Kev.  Dr. 
Thomas,  and  Mr.  Meacham  badly  wounded  and  sense- 
less. The  Indians  had  fled. 

It  had  been  a  deliberately  planned  assassination;  all 
the  Indians  who  were  present  had  revolvers  concealed 
beneath  their  clothing,  and  it  was  patent  to  all  of  the 
whites  that  they  were  entrapped  before  they  had  been 
there  ten  minutes.  They  tried  to  appear  as  calm  as 
usual  and  were  as  conciliatory  as  possible,  but  knew 
that  they  were  doomed.  Captain  Jack  shot  General 
Canby  in  the  head  with  his  pistol.  He  ran  about  forty 
yards  and  was  brought  down  by  a  rifle  shot  from  Ellen's 
Man.  The  Kev.  Dr.  Thomas  was  shot  through  the 
breast  by  Boston  Charley,  to  whom  he  had  given  break- 
fast that  very  morning.  He  rose  to  his  knees  after 
falling  and  said  to  his  murderer,  who  was  recocking  his 
gun:  "  I  shall  die  any  way.  Don't  shoot  again,  Boston!  " 
"  God  damn  ye !  Maybe  so  you  believe  what  squaw 
[Tobe]  told  ye  next  time,"  and  Boston  shot  him 
through  the  brain.  Commissioner  Meacham  was  shot 
while  running  away  by  Schonchin,  Shacknasty  Jim, 
and  Black  Jim,  and  left  for  dead,  but  he  afterward  re- 
covered and  testified  against  his  assailants  before  the 
military  commission  on  their  trial.  Dyer  escaped  un- 
harmed as  well  as  Riddle,  the  interpreter,  but  Tobe, 
Riddle's  Modoc  wife,  was  knocked  down  and  badly  hurt. 

Of  course  this  action  on  the  part  of  the  Modocs 


304:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

ended  all  peace  negotiations.  There  was  an  almost 
unanimous  cry  for  vengeance  from  the  whole  country. 
The  troops  were  soon  in  motion,  and  on  April  15th 
Colonel  A.  C.  Gillem  of  the  First  Cavalry  ordered  a 
second  attack  on  the  Modoc  stronghold.  This  action 
lasted  three  days,  and  Captain  Jack  was  driven  from 
his  fastness,  but  the  troops  were  too  much  exhausted 
to  follow,  and  he  again  took  up  a  new  position  in  the 
lava  beds. 

On  the  26th  of  April  a  reconnaissance  consisting 
of  detachments  of  Batteries  A  and  K,  Fourth  Artil- 
lery, Company  E,  Twelfth  Infantry,  and  fourteen 
friendly  Indians,  under  command  of  Captain  Evan 
Thomas,  Fourth  Artillery — in  all,  seventy  men — were 
sent  out  from  Major  Green's  camp  on  the  west  side  of 
the  lava  beds  to  scout  to  a  certain  designated  point 
and  return.  They  reached  the  spot  about  twelve  o'clock 
without  seeing  an  Indian,  and  were  resting,  when  they 
were  suddenly  attacked.  All  of  the  officers  and  non- 
commissioned officers  and  most  of  the  old  soldiers  stood 
squarely  up  to  their  work  and  were  all  killed  or  wound- 
ed, but  the  majority  of  the  men  became  panic-stricken 
and  fled.  Captain  Thomas  and  three  of  his  lieutenants 
and  thirteen  enlisted  men  were  killed  and  two  lieuten- 
ants and  sixteen  enlisted  men  were  wounded.  The  only 
possible  excuse  for  the  men  who  broke  and  ran  is  that 
many  of  them  were  recent  recruits  and  had  never  before 
been  in  action,  but  to  this  day  their  conduct  is  felt  as  a 
stigma  upon  the  service.  On  the  2d  of  May  a  new  de- 
partment commander  came  upon  the  scene.  General 
Jefferson  C.  Davis,  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  energetic 
officers  in  the  army,  had  been  assigned  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Columbia,  vice  the  late  General  Canby.  He 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  305 

took  the  field  in  person  and  found  the  troops  labouring 
under  considerable  depression  of  spirits,  owing  to  their 
repeated  failures,  their  cheerless  winter  camps,  and  the 
recent  disaster  to  Captain  Thomas's  command.  Cap- 
tain Mendenhall,  of  the  artillery,  with  his  dismounted 
battery,  soon  after  arrived  from  San  Francisco,  and 
General  Davis  began  to  reorganize  the  command.  He 
sent  two  friendly  Modoc  squaws  into  the  lava  beds, 
who  returned  in  two  days  and  reported  that  the  Modocs 
had  abandoned  the  country  and  fled.  He  sent  out  Cap- 
tain Hasbrouck's  and  Jackson's  companies  with  the 
Warm  Spring  Indian  scouts  to  try  and  find  the  Modocs. 
Signs  were  found  near  Sorass  Lake,  where  the  troops 
encamped  for  the  night.  The  next  morning  the  Mo- 
docs attacked  the  camp  at  daylight.  It  was  a  surprise, 
but  not  for  long.  The  troops  grasped  their  arms  and 
returned  the  fire  in  gallant  style  and  soon  advanced 
and  attacked  the  Modocs  with  great  impetuosity,  who, 
after  some  sharp  fighting,  broke  and  began  to  slowly 
retreat  to  the  lava  beds,  contesting  the  ground  hotly 
for  three  miles.  It  was  a  fight  in  the  open,  and  for  the 
first  time  during  the  campaign  the  Modocs  were  fairly 
and  squarely  whipped  and  the  spell  was  broken.  To  be 
sure  they  were  back  in  the  lava  beds,  but  that  was 
better  than  having  them  roam  over  the  country  and 
devastate  the  ranches. 

General  Davis  now  moved  all  his  troops  into  the 
lava  beds  and  formed  a  series  of  bivouacs  from  which 
they  could  fight  or  rest,  but  they  were  always  within 
touch  of  the  Indians,  who' were  constantly  apprehensive 
of  attack.  Captain  Jack  could  no  longer  keep  his  men 
up  to  their  work.  They  soon  became  exhausted,  and  as 
he  was  very  tyrannical  in  his  treatment  dissensions 


306  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

arose,  and  finally  the  band  broke  into  two  nearly  equal 
parties,  and  they  both  finally  left  the  lava  beds 
bitter  enemies.  No  sooner  was  this  move  discovered 
than  the  troops  were  after  them  hot  foot.  At  last 
they  had  them  in  the  open  country.  Captain  Has- 
brouck  had  a  running  fight  with  one  of  the  bands 
for  seven  or  eight  miles,  and  then  the  Indians  scat- 
tered in  all  directions.  On  the  22d  of  May  this  band 
came  in  and  surrendered.  It  contained — men,  women, 
and  children — about  one  hundred  and  fifty  people.  On 
the  29th  of  May  Captain  Jack  and  his  band  were  at- 
tacked on  Willow  Creek,  which  is  the  head  water  of  Lost 
River,  and  is  near  the  old  emigrant  road.  It  was  a 
complete  surprise,  and  the  Indians  fled  in  all  direc- 
tions. The  troops  hunted  them  down  singly  and  in 
groups  everywhere  they  went,  and  on  the  3d  of  June 
Captain  Jack  was  surrounded  and  captured,  together 
with  a  few  warriors  who  had  stood  by  him  to  the  last. 
He  was  seated  on  a  log  when  his  assailants  came  up, 
looking  worn  and  very  tired.  His  only  remark  was, 
"  My  legs  have  given  out,"  and  after  that  he  was  sto- 
ically silent.  Little  remains  to  be  said. 

The  murderers  of  General  Canby  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Meacham  of  the  peace  commission  were  brought  to 
trial  before  a  military  commission  convened  at  Fort 
Klamath  by  order  of  the  President.  The  testimony  of 
Peace  Commissioners  Meacham  and  Dyer  and  inter- 
preter Riddle  and  his  Modoc  wife,  Tobe,  established  the 
facts  of  the  assassination,  and  several  of  the  Modocs 
turned  State's  evidence  and  testified  as  to  the  agreed 
plan  of  the  assassination  by  the  Indians  the  day  before 
the  meeting  at  the  council  tent.  Captain  Jack,  Schon- 
chin,  Boston  Charley,  Black  Jim,  Barncho,  and  Schlo- 


THE  MODOC  WAR  IN  OREGON.  307 

luck  were  all  found  guilty  of  murder  and  sentenced  to 
be  hanged.  The  findings  of  the  military  commission 
were  duly  approved  by  the  President,  and  the  sentence 
ordered  carried  into  execution.  Accordingly  on  Friday, 
October  3,  1873,  Captain  Jack,  Schonchin,  Boston 
Charley,  and  Black  Jim  were  hanged  at  Fort  Klamath, 
Oregon,  but  the  sentence  in  the  cases  of  Barncho  and 
Schloluck  was  commuted  to  imprisonment  for  life.  The 
rest  of  the  Modocs — men,  women,  and  children — were 
deported  from  Oregon  to  a  section  of  Indian  Territory 
not  far  from  the  Kansas  line,  and  were  there  settled  on 
Government  land  by  the  Indian  Bureau. 

The  Modoc  war  cost  the  Government  large  sums  of 
money  and  the  lives  of  some  of  our  best  officers  and 
bravest  enlisted  men — all  of  which  could  have  been 
avoided  if  the  suggestions  of  General  Canby  had  been 
heeded  and  carried  out  at  the  proper  time. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE   SIOUX   CAMPAIGN   OF   1876. 

THE  result  of  the  winter's  campaign  of  1868  and 
1869  against  the  Indians  within  the  Department  of  the 
Missouri  may  be  summed  up  in  the  following  official 
statement:  Three  hundred  and  fifty-three  officers,  citi- 
zens, and  soldiers  killed,  wounded,  or  captured  by  the 
Indians.  Three  hundred  and  nineteen  Indians  killed, 
two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  wounded,  and  fifty-three 
captured  by  the  troops.  The  number  of  Indians  who, 
as  a  result  of  this  winter  campaign,  finally  came  in  and 
surrendered  at  the  different  Indian  agencies  and  other 
places  agreed  upon  between  the  department  command- 
ers and  themselves  was  nearly  twelve  thousand. 

These  Indians  included  the  majority  of  those  who 
had  been  devastating  the  frontier  along  the  Republican, 
Smoky  Hill,  and  Arkansas  Rivers,  but  it  did  not,  of 
course,  include  many  thousands  of  the  wild  tribes,  and 
consequently  raiding  by  small  bands  and  detached  In- 
dian hunting  and  scouting  parties  was  an  almost  weekly 
occurrence  along  the  sparsely  settled  frontiers  from  the 
northwestern  British  border  to  the  Rio  Grande  River 
on  the  Mexican  frontier.  From  1869  to  1876  there 
was  scarcely  a  week  during  the  late  spring,  summer, 
and  early  fall  months  that  cases  of  raiding,  plunder- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OP  1876.  309 

ing,  outraging,  and  murdering  isolated  ranchmen  and 
their  families  by  roving  bands  of  Indians  was  not  re- 
ported somewhere  within  the  geographical  limits  of  the 
various  military  departments  of  the  far  North,  the  West, 
or  in  the  far  Southwest.  During  the  years  1869  to  1875 
the  official  -records  of  the  War  Department  show  that 
within  the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  which  included 
all  of  the  North,  the  West,  and  the  Southwest  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  no  less  than  two  hundred  and 
three  actions  occurred  between  the  United  States 
troops  and  the  wild  Indians,  each  one  being  the  out- 
come either  of  an  attack  by  the  Indians  on  the  troops 
guarding  Government  trains  or  made  by  the  troops  in 
pursuit  of  Indians  who  had  attacked  the  frontiersmen 
and  run  off  their  stock  or  else  killed  the  settlers  and 
then  plundered  and  burned  their  ranches. 

Some  of  the  fighting  during  these  years,  especially 
that  by  small  detached  parties  of  troops,  was  worthy 
of  all  praise,  but  I  shall  only  quote  two  actions  which 
will,  I  think,  give  the  reader  something  of  an  idea  of 
what  the  army  had  to  do  and  how  the  settlers  suffered 
on  the  border  less  than  a  generation  ago. 

On  July  8,  1869,  Corporal  Kyle,  with  a  detachment 
of  four  men  of  the  Fifth  Cavalry,  while  going  to  the 
camp  of  General  Carr's  command  on  the  Republican 
River,  was  attacked  by  a  large  band  of  Indians,  but  he 
successfully  cut  his  way  through  it,  wounding  two 
of  the  Indians  without  any  casualties  to  his  own  men. 
The  next  day  -General  Carr  took  up  the  Indian  trail 
and  followed  it  rapidly  for  two  days,  and  early  on  the 
morning  of  June  llth  completely  surprised  the  Indian 
camp  at  Summit  Springs.  He  instantly  charged  it  with 
five  troops  of  the  Fifth  Cavalry  and  three  companies 
21 


310  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  mounted  Pawnee  scouts,  killing  fifty-two  Indians, 
among  them  "  Tall  Bull,"  the  head  of  the  band  and 
one  of  the  most  prominent  Sioux  chiefs.  So  complete 
was  the  surprise  and  so  sudden  and  unexpected  was  the 
attack,  that  the  Indians  only  had  time  to  spring  on 
to  their  ponies  and  flee  for  their  lives.  Our  loss  was 
only  one  man  wounded  and  a  few  horses.  In  this  camp 
were  two  unfortunate  white  women,  who  had  been  cap- 
tured in  the  raids  by  the  Indians  on  the  Kansas  set- 
tlements. One  of  them,  a  Mrs.  Alderdice,  had  been 
captured  with  her  baby,  whom  the  Indians  strangled 
before  her  eyes.  The  other,  a  Mrs.  Weichell,  had  seen 
her  husband  horribly  mutilated  and  then  killed  just 
before  she  was  carried  off  by  the  savages.  When  the 
Indians  realized  that  the  troops  were  upon  them  and 
these  women  would  be  rescued,  they  killed  Mrs.  Alder- 
dice  by  braining  her  with  a  war  club  and  shot  Mrs. 
Weichell  in  the  breast  and  left  her  for  dead;  but  the 
army  surgeon  who  was  with  the  troops  extracted  the 
bullet  from  her  back,  and  she  was  tenderly  carried  by 
the  soldiers  back  to  Fort  Sedgewick,  where  she  eventu- 
ally recovered.  Her  pitiful  story  of  the  treatment  of 
Mrs.  Alderdice  and  herself  by  the  Indian  braves  was 
simply  heartrending  and  too  awful  to  put  in  print. 
Besides  capturing  two  hundred  and  seventy-four  horses 
and  one  hundred  and  forty-five  mules  in  this  Indian 
camp,  the  enlisted  men  found  nearly  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  in  money,  which  they  promptly  and  cheerfully 
donated  to  Mrs.  Weichell  as  an  expression  of  their  sym- 
pathy for  her  in  her  great  grief  and  terrible  misfortune. 
One  instance  of  the  coolness,  courage,  and  splendid 
endurance  of  a  small  party  of  enlisted  men  is  well 
worthy  of  mention  here.  In  the  month  of  September, 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  3H 

1874,  Colonel  (now  Lieutenant-General)  Miles,  desir- 
ing to  communicate  with  Major  Price,  while  campaign- 
ing in  Indian  Territory,  sent  out  a  detachment  of  four 
enlisted  men  and  two  scouts  with  despatches  to  that 
officer.  These  men  were  completely  surrounded  and 
attacked  by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  but,  throwing 
themselves  into  an  old  buffalo  wallow  and  lying  behind 
their  dead  horses,  they  kept  them  off  for  two  whole  days 
until  rescued  by  the  opportune  arrival  of  a  body  of 
our  soldiers.  When  the  troops  reached  them  one  of 
their  number  was  dead  and  three  of  the  others  badly 
wounded,  and  all  suffering  fearfully  for  want  of  water. 
This  almost  incessant  border  warfare  for  five  consecu- 
tive years  gradually  led  up  to  a  general  movement  of 
the  army  against  the  Sioux,  Cheyenne,  and  other  com- 
bined wild  tribes  along  the  Northwestern  frontier, 
which  only  culminated  when  they  were  forced  on  to 
their  reservations  by  the  incessant  work  of  the  army 
from  1876  to  1881. 

The  year  1876  was  in  some  respects  one  of  the 
most  unfortunate  for  the  troops  of  our  army  of  any 
of  the  campaigns  against  the  Indians  that  have  taken 
place  within  the  last  generation.  So  great  and  so  in- 
cessant were  the  complaints  of  the  settlers  on  our  North- 
western border  of  the  repeated  robberies,  raids,  and 
attacks  by  the  wild  tribes  upon  that  frontier  that  in 
the  fall  of  1875  an  investigation  of  the  matter  was 
authorized  by  the  Indian  Bureau  of  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  with  the  result  that  all  the  wild  tribes 
were  notified  by  that  department  that  they  must  re- 
move to  the  Government  reservations  set  aside  for 
them,  and  remain  on  said  reservations  thereafter,  by 
or  before  the  1st  of  January,  1876,  or,  in  the  event 


312  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

of  their  failure  to  do  so,  they  would  be  turned  over  to 
the  War  Department.  This  demand  on  the  part  of  the 
Indian  Bureau  had  scarcely  any  perceptible  effect; 
consequently,  in  the  month  of  February,  1876,  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior  turned  the  whole  matter  over 
to  the  War  Department  for  such  action  as  would  com- 
pel these  Indians  to  come  in  to  the  reservations. 

In  justice  to  some  of  these  Indians,  it  ought  to 
be  stated  that  a  number  of  the  tribes  had  never  ac- 
cepted the  reservation  system,  and  had  always  averred 
that  they  would  not  come  in,  and  positively  refused 
to  agree  to  anything  looking  to  such  an  end.  Among 
these  was  Sitting  Bull,  who  at  that  time  was  not  a 
prominent  chief  and  whose  following  was  probably  less 
than  fifty  lodges,  and  Crazy  Horse,  an  Ogallalla  Sioux 
who  had  about  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  lodges  in 
his  immediate  following;  but  the  rest  of  the  Ogallalla 
Sioux,  as  a  body  outside  of  Crazy  Horse's  following, 
were  supposed  to  belong  to  Eed  Cloud  agency,  and 
agency  issues  had  been  made  there  to  them. 

It  was  about  these  two  leaders,  Crazy  Horse  and 
Sitting  Bull,  that  the  disaffected  Indians  began  to  con- 
centrate. As  all  of  the  Northern  hostiles  were  within 
the  division  of  the  Missouri,  which  at  that  time  was 
under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-General  P.  H.  Sheri- 
dan, the  commanding  general  of  the  army,  General  W. 
T.  Sherman  turned  the  whole  matter  over  to  him,  and 
he  ordered  two  of  his  department  commanders — Briga- 
dier-General A.  H.  Terry,  of  the  Department  of  Da- 
kota, and  Brigadier-General  George  Crook,  of  the 
Department  of  the  Platte — within  whose,  respective 
departments  these  hostile  Indians  were  living,  to  con- 
centrate their  troops  and  proceed  against  them.  Be- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  313 

fore  taking  this  action,  however,  runners  were  sent  to 
the  hostile  Indian  camps,  telling  them  of  the  deter- 
mination of  the  Government,  and  every  possible  argu- 
ment was  advanced  to  induce  them  to  abandon  the  war 
path  and  come  in  to  the  reservations  and  be  at  peace 
with  the  whites,  but  it  was  not  of  the  slightest  use; 
and  as  argument  could  not  avail,  recourse  had  to  be 
had  to  sterner  measures. 

General  Crook's  first  move  was  to  concentrate  his 
cavalry  at  Fort  Fetterman,  for  all  his  information  led 
him  to  believe  that  the  hostiles  would  be  found  located 
somewhere  on  the  head  waters  of  Powder  Kiver,  Tongue 
Kiver,  or  along  the  valley  of  the  Kosebud.  On  the 
17th  of  March  Colonel  J.  J.  Eeynolds,  with  five  troops 
of  the  Second  Cavalry  and  four  troops  of  the  Third 
Cavalry,  left  Fort  Fetterman  on  an  expedition  against 
the  hostiles.  The  weather  turned  bitterly  cold  soon 
after  he  started  on  the  march,  and  so  cold  was  it 
that  the  mercurial  thermometer  failed  to  register  its 
intensity;  notwithstanding  which  the  command  pressed 
on  vigorously  to  the  mouth  of  Little  Powder  Kiver, 
where  it  surprised  and  attacked  a  large  village  of  the 
Sioux  and  Cheyennes,  which  it  captured,  together  with 
a  pony  herd  of  eight  hundred  animals.  Our  loss  was 
four  enlisted  men  killed  and  one  lieutenant  and  five 
men  wounded.  This  village  was  a  perfect  magazine  of 
fixed  ammunition  and  supplies  of  all  sorts.  Everything 
in  it  went  to  show  that  these  hostiles  were  in  constant 
communication  with  the  agency  Indians  at  Red  Cloud 
and  Spotted  Tail  agencies,  and  obtained  their  war 
material  and  supplies  directly  from  them.  One  hundred 
and  five  lodges  were  burned,  and  then  the  troops  set 
out  on  their  return  to  Fort  Fetterman,  driving  the 


314  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

pony  herd  with  them,  with  the  result  that  they  were 
followed  by  the  Indians,  who  stampeded  the  herd  and 
so  got  their  ponies  back.  It  is  not  known  how  many 
Indians  were  killed  in  this  action,  but  as  they  fled  at 
the  first  attack  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  they  did 
not  lose  any  more  men  than  we  did.  The  destruction  of 
the  village,  with  its  provisions  and  war  supplies,  was 
a  very  good  thing,  but  the  loss  of  the  pony  herd  was 
a  serious  misfortune  at  the  beginning  of  an  Indian 
campaign.  On  the  return  of  these  troops  to  Fort  Fet- 
terman,  so  inclement  was  the  weather  that  they  had 
to  be  sent  back  to  their  various  winter  posts  for  shelter. 
The  spring  of  1876  in  the  north  was  an  unusually 
backward  one,  and  in  fact  the  entire  summer  was  a 
most  inclement  one,  the  whole  country  being  flooded 
with  terrible  rains  and  swept  with  wind  storms  of  un- 
usual severity.  It  was  not  until  the  29th  of  May  that 
General  Crook,  the  department  commander,  was  en- 
abled to  concentrate  his  troops  and  take  the  field  in 
person  against  the  Indians.  On  that  date,  with  five 
troops  of  the  Second  Cavalry,  Major  H.  E.  Noyes  com- 
manding; ten  of  the  Third  Cavalry,  Colonel  W.  B. 
Eoyall  commanding;  and  two  companies  of  the  Fourth 
and  three  of  the  Ninth  Infantry,  Major  Alexander 
Chambers  commanding;  together  with  a  splendid  pack 
train  of  more  than  a  thousand  mules,  he  left  Fort  Fet- 
terman  for  Goose  Creek,  upon  which  he  proposed  to 
establish  his  depot  of  supplies,  from  where  he  intended 
to  operate  against  the  hostile  Sioux,  whom  he  expected 
to  find  somewhere  about  the  head  waters  of  the  Tongue, 
the  Eosebud,  the  Powder,  or  the  Big  Horn  Eivers,  but 
in  what  precise  locality  he  would  find  them  or  whether 
they  would  meet  him  on  the  way  there  he  had  no  idea. 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  315 

His  whole  command  numbered  a  little  more  than 
eleven  hundred  fighting  men.  It  was  Chief  Crazy  Horse 
and  his  Sioux  allies  that  he  expected  to  meet  and  fight 
in  the  campaign  he  was  about  to  inaugurate.  If  the  re- 
peated statements  of  the  Indian  agents  at  Eed  Cloud 
and  Spotted  Tail  agencies  could  be  believed,  few  if  any 
of  their  young  men  had  left  the  agencies,  and  they 
were  constantly  issuing  Government  rations  to  all  of 
them.  But,  as  after  events  proved,  while  they  undoubt- 
edly charged  the  Indian  Bureau  for  full  issues,  nearly 
or  quite  ninety  per  cent  of  their  fighting  braves  were 
on  the  war  path  and  had  gone  to  join  Crazy  Horse  and 
Sitting  Bull;  so  that  when  General  Crook  finally  did 
meet  the  hostiles  he  was  confronted  by  more  than  three 
times  as  many  warriors  as  he  expected  to  meet.  On 
the  night  of  the  31st  of  May  the  thermometer  fell  to 
zero,  and  a  terrific  wind  storm  swept  down  the  tents 
of  the  command  from  one  end  of  the  camp  to  the  other, 
and  the  troops  shivered  around  their  camp  fires  until 
daybreak.  It  was  the  precursor  of  many  more  storms 
like  it,  for  this  summer's  campaign  was  one  that  tried 
the  men's  patience  to  the  utmost  limits.  It  was 
not  until  the  17th  of  June  that  General  Crook's  forces 
met  the  hostiles.  On  the  preceding  night  he  had  en- 
camped in  the  valley  of  Rosebud  Creek,  with  the  pack 
train  and  cavalry  horses  placed  in  the  middle  of  the 
command,  for  he  well  knew  that  the  hostile  Sioux 
could  not  be  very  far  distant.  In  fact,  he  expected 
to  find  their  village  upon  the  head  waters  of  the 
Rosebud.  All  day  long  his  Indian  scouts  of  Snakes  and 
Crows  had  been  killing  buffaloes,  vast  herds  of  which 
were  quietly  feeding  on  both  sides  of  his  marching  col- 
umn, and  until  late  in  the  night  they  had  been  feasting 


316  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

and  singing,  much  to  his  annoyance;  but  under  the  cir- 
cumstances it  would  have  been  poor  policy  to  have  for- 
bidden the  feast  and  thereby  have  disgruntled  them  just 
at  this  particular  juncture.  Before  daylight, however, the 
whole  command  was  up,  had  groomed  and  fed  its  horses 
and  pack  mules,  breakfasted,  and  was  standing  to  horse. 

Just  as  dawn  lit  up  the  eastern  hills  the  Indian 
scouts  disappeared  over  the  northern  bluffs,  and  soon 
after  the  whole  command  marched  steadily  north- 
ward until  the  sun  was  well  above  the  horizon.  Here 
it  halted  in  a  little  valley  surrounded  by  low-lying  hills 
in  every  direction,  through  which  the  Rosebud  was 
silently  flowing,  and  orders  were  given  to  unsaddle  and 
graze  the  horses,  as  the  grass  was  unusually  good.  The 
troops  were  on  both  sides  of  the  stream,  the  right 
bank  being  occupied  by  the  five  companies  of  the  Sec- 
ond Cavalry  under  Major  Noyes,  and  one  battalion  of 
the  Third  Cavalry  under  Captain  Mills.  On  the  left 
bank  was  the  infantry  under  Major  Chambers,  with 
Colonel  Guy  V.  Henry's  and  Van  Vliet's  battalions 
of  the  Third  Cavalry,  together  with  the  pack  train 
and  such  of  the  Indian  scouts  as  had  not  gone  out  in 
the  morning. 

It  was  a  little  after  eight  o'clock  when  a  few 
shots  were  heard  over  beyond  the  northern  hills  that 
hemmed  in  the  valley  in  that  direction,  and  almost 
immediately  the  Indian  scouts  who  had  been  sent  on  in 
advance  in  the  early  morning  came  pouring  over  the 
hills  in  wild  and  precipitate  flight  toward  the  troops, 
shouting  as  they  recklessly  plunged  down  the  steep 
slope  at  breakneck  speed,  "  Sioux,  Sioux!  Heap  Sioux!  " 
and  pointing  back  to  the  hills  whence  they  had 
come.  At  their  first  appearance  every  trooper  had  in- 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF   1876.  317 

stantly  saddled  and  bridled  his  horse,  mounted  and 
taken  his  place  in  ranks  without  waiting  for  orders, 
and  they  now  sat  silent  and  grim,  with  their  eyes 
fixed  on  the  northern  hills.  They  did  not  have  long 
to  wait,  for  in  a  brief  space  of  time  these  hills  were 
covered  with  mounted  Sioux,  who  instantly  opened  fire 
upon  them  from  their  rifles  and  then  rode  up  and  down 
the  crest,  shouting,  waving  their  guns  over  their  heads, 
and  defying  them  by  words  and  gestures  to  come  on. 
General  Crook  had  promptly  thrown  forward  his  infan- 
try to  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  they  were  advancing 
as  skirmishers  when  Adjutant  Lemly,  riding  at  a  gallop, 
dashed  up  to  Captain  Anson  Mills  (now  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral Mills,  retired),  shouting  as  he  came  on:  "  The 
commanding  officer's  compliments,  and  your  battalion 
will  charge  those  bluffs  on  the  centre." 

Captain  Mills  gave  but  two  commands,  "  Right  into 
line,"  and  as  his  four  splendid  troops  of  cavalry  promptly 
swung  into  battalion  front  he  raised  himself  in  his  stir- 
rups and  shouted  "  Charge !  "  Every  trooper  in  ranks 
drove  home  his  spurs,  and  the  superb  body  of  horsemen 
swept  up  the  steep  slope  in  a  mad  rush  for  the  defiant 
Sioux,  who,  as  the  troops  came  galloping  on,  opened 
upon  them  with  their  rifles,  sending  down  a  horse  and 
man  here  and  there,  but  not  in  the  least  checking  the 
weight  of  the  charge;  for,  as  they  gained  the  crest  in 
splendid  alignment  and  saw  the  Sioux  drawn  up  to  meet 
them  two  hundred  yards  away,  the  whole  command 
burst  into  a  tremendous  cheer  and,  breaking  into  a  dead 
run,  made  straight  for  them;  but  before  they  were 
within  fifty  yards  of  the  Indians  the  Sioux  broke  wildly 
and  fled  down  the  oposite  slope  in  every  direction.  The 
battle  of  the  Rosebud  was  on. 


318  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Scarcely  had  Captain  Mills  started  on  his  charge 
when  orders  were  given  Captain  and  Brevet  Colonel  Guy 
V.  Henry,  who  commanded  the  second  battalion  of  the 
Third  Cavalry,  to  support  our  infantry,  which  the  Sioux, 
who  had  begun  to  develop  in  wonderfully  strong  array, 
were  now  advancing  upon  and  attempting  to  surround. 
Colonel  Henry  hurled  his  battalion  upon  them  with 
all  the  impetuosity  of  his  nature,  and  the  Indians  gave 
way  in  great  confusion,  and  the  infantry  and  cavalry 
together  pressed  their  line  steadily  back  for  more  than 
half  a  mile.  Here,  however,  the  Indians  seemed  to  be 
heavily  re-enforced  and  held  their  own  with  great  te- 
nacity; nor  was  our  force  strong  enough  to  dislodge 
them  from  their  position  on  the  crest  of  some  outlying 
hills. 

About  this  time  General  Crook  sent  forward  the 
two  remaining  troops  of  the  Tenth  Cavalry  to  occupy 
the  bluffs  to  his  left  and  rear,  anticipating  that  possibly 
the  Indians  might  attempt  a  flank  movement.  It  was 
now  clearly  evident  that  instead  of  meeting  Crazy  Horse 
with  a  few  malcontents — which  if  the  statements  of 
the  Indian  agents  at  Red  Cloud  and  Spotted  Tail  agen- 
cies had  been  true  could  not  possibly  have  exceeded  a 
thousand  warriors — the  command  was  facing  not  less 
than  twenty-five  hundred  and  probably  three  thousand 
well-equipped  and  finely  armed  mounted  warriors,  who 
had  undoubtedly  been  sent  out  to  cover  the  retreat  of 
their  villages,  which  probably  had  been  located  several 
miles  up  the  stream  and  at  the  other  end  of  the  canon 
in  which  the  fight  was  now  taking  place.  General 
Crook  still  held  the  five  troops  of  the  Second  Cavalry, 
under  command  of  Major  Noyes,  in  reserve;  and  Cap- 
tain Mills  having  taken  the  first  line  of  heights,  he  sent 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  319 

the  Crow  and  Snake  scouts  to  his  support,  at  the  same 
time  detaching  one  of  Captain  Mills's  troops  to  the 
support  of  Colonel  Henry's  battalion  on  the  right.  The 
Sioux  had  now  rallied  and  reformed  on  the  second  line 
of  heights,  and  it  was  decided  to  attack  them  without 
delay.  Accordingly,  the  whole  line  of  cavalry  was  or- 
dered to  charge  them,  which  it  did  with  great  impetu- 
osity, the  Indians  breaking  just  before  the  troops 
reached  them  and  immediately  occupying  a  third  line 
of  hills  which  rose  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  just 
beyond  the  line  of  hills  that  the  command  had  driven 
them  from. 

Orders  were  now  given  for  the  cavalry  to  dis- 
mount and  fight  on  foot,  and  the  men  were  soon  ad- 
vancing on  foot  as  skirmishers  while  the  horses  were 
held  by  every  fourth  man  well  back  and  partially  under 
cover  from  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  In  the  meantime  the 
troops  on  the  right,  under  the  immediate  command 
of  Colonels  Eoyall  and  Henry,  were  facing  the  Chey- 
ennes,  who  fiercely  opposed  their  advance  at  every  point 
and  disputed  the  ground  foot  by  foot.  One  of  the 
companies  of  the  Third  Cavalry,  under  Captain  Vroom 
having  pushed  forward  beyond  the  line,  was  at  one  time 
completely  surrounded  by  the  Indians,  and  only  extri- 
cated by  the  coolness  of  its  captain  and  the  good  man- 
agement of  Colonels  Eoyall  and  Henry.  The  Cheyennes 
made  a  most  determined  attack  upon  Colonel  Henry's 
(dismounted)  battalion,  and  in  repelling  this  advance 
Colonel  Henry  was  badly  wounded  by  a  bullet  which 
passed  through  both  cheek  bones,  destroyed  the  sight 
of  one  eye,  and  broke  the  bridge  of  his  nose,  but  he 
bravely  sat  his  horse  until  the  enemy  was  repulsed. 
About  this  time  the  Sioux  made  a  most  determined 


320  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

charge  down  some  intervening  ravines  on  General 
Crook's  centre.  Here  they  were  met  by  the  Crow  and 
Snake  scouts,  under  command  of  Major  Randall  and 
Lieutenant  Bourke,  of  General  Crook's  staff,  and  a 
sharp  fight  between  the  two  bodies  of  Indians  ensued, 
in  which,  by  the  aid  of  our  troops,  the  Sioux  were 
finally  forced  back. 

General  Crook  now  determined  to  make  an  effort 
to  reach  the  Sioux  village  and,  if  possible,  force  mat- 
ters to  a  conclusion.  Accordingly,  he  ordered  Captain 
Mills  to  mount  his  battalion  (he  had  only  three  com- 
panies, one  having  been  detached)  and,  supported  by 
Major  Noyes  with  five  troops  of  the  Second  Cavalry, 
to  find  and  attack  the  Sioux  villages,  supposed  to  be 
somewhere  beyond  in  what  was  known  as  the  Dead 
Canon  of  the  Rosebud  Valley.  Mounting  his  com- 
mand, Captain  Mills  set  out  at  once  in  search  of  the 
villages.  He  was  accompanied  by  Lieutenant  Bourke, 
of  General  Crook's  staff,  and  Frank  Gruard,  the  In- 
dian scout  and  interpreter.  A  body  of  Sioux  posted 
on  a  bluff  to  hold  the  entrance  to  the  canon  having 
been  dislodged  by  a  charge  of  cavalry,  the  troops, 
guided  by  Gruard,  entered  the  canon  and  started  on 
their  quest.  It  was  a  wild  and  dangerous  defile,  narrow 
and  shut  in  by  high  rocks  and  overhung  by  gloomy 
woods.  It  was  said  to  be  eight  or  ten  miles  in  length, 
and  it  was  thought  that  the  main  encampment  of  the 
Sioux  would  be  found  near  the  north  end  of  it.  The 
troops  had  probably  advanced  a  third  of  its  length  when 
they  were  overtaken  by  orders  from  General  Crook  to 
return  at  all  speed,  as  the  Indians  were  surely  pressing 
the  rest  of  the  command,  and,  under  the  circumstances, 
it  would  not  do  to  divide  his  forces. 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OP  1876.  321 

As  soon  as  possible  the  cavalry  retraced  its  course, 
and  by  a  slight  detour  near  the  end  of  the  canon  came 
out  in  full  view  of  the  contending  forces  just  as  the 
Sioux  were  about  to  attack  our  troops  in  overwhelming 
force;  but  the  sudden  and  unlooked-for  charge  of  the  re- 
turning cavalry,  who  came  to  the  rescue,  cheering  wildly 
as  they  charged,  completely  stampeded  the  Indians,  who 
broke  away  to  the  hills  in  all  directions,  leaving  our 
troops  in  possession  of  the  field  and  thirteen  of  their 
dead  whom  they  were  unable  to  carry  off  in  their  haste. 
This  was  the  end  of  the  action,  for  the  Sioux  fell  back 
into  the  hills;  and  General  Crook  was  compelled  to  ad- 
mit that  the  object  of  his  campaign — viz.,  the  surprise 
and  destruction  of  the  hostile  Sioux  villages — was  a 
failure,  as  they  were  in  all  probability  already  packing 
up  to  join  Sitting  Bull's  encampment  farther  north. 
Moreover,  he  knew  also  that  Crazy  Horse's  following 
was  too  large  for  him  to  attack  and  defeat  with  his 
present  force.  That  night  he  fell  back  to  his  camp 
of  the  preceding  night,  and  the  next  day  he  reached 
his  base  of  supplies  at  Goose  Creek.  Our  losses  in  the 
battle  of  the  Rosebud  were  nine  men  killed  and  one 
officer  (Colonel  Guy  V.  Henry)  and  twenty-three  en- 
listed men  wounded,  two  Indian  scouts  killed  and  six 
wounded.  Thirteen  of  the  Indian  dead  fell  into  our 
hands;  beyond  that  nothing  is  known,  although  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  there  were  others  killed  and  many 
wounded. 

It  is  now  time  to  take  a  look  at  what  was  being 
done  in  the  way  of  a  campaign  against  the  hostiles  in 
the  Department  of  Dakota.  It  was  understood  that 
Generals  Crook  and  Terry  would  take  the  field  against 
the  Indians  at  about  the  same  time.  On  June  21st 


322  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

General  Terry,  with  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  four  troops 
of  the  Second  Cavalry,  six  companies  of  the  Seventh 
Infantry,  and  six  of  the  Seventeenth,  and  a  battery  of 
three  Gatling  guns,  was  encamped  on  the  Yellowstone 
Kiver,  preparatory  to  moving  on  Sitting  Bull's  force, 
which  had  been  relatively  located  somewhere  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  Eiver.  After  consulta- 
tion with  Generals  Gibbon  and  Custer,  the  following 
plan  of  operation  was  decided  upon:  Custer,  with  the 
whole  of  his  regiment — the  Seventh  Cavalry — should 
proceed  up  the  Kosebud  until  he  cut  the  Indian  trail, 
discovered  by  Major  Reno,  of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  a 
few  days  previously.  If  it  led  directly  to  the  Little 
Big  Horn  he  should  not  follow  it,  but  deflect  consid- 
erably to  the  south  before  turning  toward  that  river  in 
order  to  intercept  the  Indians  should  they  attempt  to 
slip  between  him  and  the  mountains,  and  also  to  give 
time  for  General  Gibbon's  column  to  come  up.  General 
Gibbon,  with  six  companies  of  his  own  regiment — the 
Seventh  Infantry — and  four  troops  of  the  Second  Cav- 
alry, was  to  cross  the  Yellowstone  River  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Big  Horn  and  march  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Little  Big  Horn,  with  the  expectation  of  reaching 
that  place  by  June  26th.  If  this  could  be  successfully 
accomplished  they  would  have  Sitting  Bull's  forces  be- 
tween the  two  commands.  But  the  written  instructions 
given  General  Custer  gave  him  great  latitude. 

Custer  started  up  the  Rosebud  on  June  22d,  while 
Gibbon's  command,  accompanied  by  General  Terry, 
moved  the  same  day  for  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Horn. 
Custer  reached  and  crossed  Tullock's  Creek  on  the  after- 
noon of  June  24th.  On  June  22d  he  made  a  march  of 
twelve  miles;  June  23d  he  marched  up  the  Rosebud 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  323 

thirty-three  miles;  June  24th  he  marched  twenty-eight 
miles  and  encamped.  At  eleven  o'clock  that  night  the 
command  marched  up  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Hose- 
bud,  turning  to  the  right  from  the  main  stream,  which 
branch  headed  out  at  the  summit  of  the  "  divide  "  be- 
tween the  Eosebud  and  the  Little  Big  Horn.  At  two 
o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  the  command  halted 
for  three  hours,  made  coffee,  and  resumed  the  march, 
crossed  the  "  divide,"  and  at  eight  o'clock  was  in  the 
valley  of  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Little  Big  Horn. 
Custer  pushed  down  the  valley  of  the  creek  he  was  upon 
directly  toward  the  Little  Big  Horn.  He  believed  he 
had  been  seen  by  the  Indians,  and  evidently  thought 
his  best  course  was  to  attack.  Taking  personal  com- 
mand of  Troops  G,  E,  F,  I,  and  L,  he  marched  down 
the  right  bank  of  the  creek.  He  had  given  Major  Reno 
command  of  Troops  A,  G,  and  M  and  Captain  Benteen 
command  of  Troops  H,  D,  and  K,  and  both  Reno  and 
Benteen  were  marching  along  the  left  bank  of  the 
creek.  Captain  McDougall,  with  B  troop,  was  guard- 
ing the  pack  train  and  in  rear  of  the  entire  command, 
and  also  following  down  on  the  left  bank  of  the  creek, 
but  out  of  sight  of  the  rest  of  the  regiment.  About 
eleven  o'clock  Reno  crossed  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
creek  and  joined  Custer's  column.  A  little  after  twelve 
o'clock  Custer's  scouts  reported  the  Indian  village  only 
two  miles  ahead,  and  stated  that  the  Indians  were  run- 
ning away. 

Custer  ordered  Reno  to  move  forward  and  charge 
the  village,  with  the  understanding  (according  to 
Reno)  that  he,  Custer,  was  to  support  him.  Reno 
moved  at  a  fast  trot  for  about  two  miles,  reached  the 
river,  crossed  it,  halted  a  few  moments  to  form  up  his 


324  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

command,  deployed,  and  charged.  He  states  that  he 
drove  the  Indians  for  two  miles  or  over  down  the  river 
toward  the  village,  which  still  stood,  the  tepees  not 
having  been  taken  down.  In  the  meantime  he  could 
not  see  or  hear  anything  of  either  Custer  or  Benteen, 
and  the  Indians  began  swarming  toward  him  in  great 
numbers.  Accordingly,  he  took  position  in  the  edge  of 
some  timber,  which  made  a  protection  for  his  horses, 
dismounted  his  men,  and  began  to  fight  on  foot  from 
behind  the  trees.  Very  soon,  however,  he  realized  that 
he  would  be  overcome  by  the  immensely  preponderating 
force  of  Indians.  Accordingly,  he  mounted  his  troops, 
charged  through  the  Indians,  recrossed  the  river,  and 
took  up  a  position  on  the  crest  of  a  bluff  on  the  opposite 
side. 

In  this  charge  two  of  his  lieutenants  and  his  as- 
sistant surgeon,  together  with  twenty-nine  enlisted  men, 
were  killed,  and  seven  men  wounded.  Here  he  was 
joined  by  Benteen's  battalion  of  three  troops,  Benteen 
having,  according  to  orders,  gone  well  out  on  the  left 
and  rear  to  cover  any  approach  of  Indians  from  that 
direction,  but  not  finding  any  he  returned  toward  the 
main  column  and  was  met  by  an  orderly  directing  him 
to  come  on  at  once,  as  the  Indian  village  was  in  sight. 
A  few  moments  after  Benteen  had  joined  Reno  Cap- 
tain McDougall  came  up  with  Troop  B  and  the  pack 
train.  These  three  detachments  gave  Reno  a  command 
of  seven  troops,  making  an  aggregate  of  nearly  four 
hundred  officers  and  men.  Nothing  having  been  seen 
or  heard  of  Custer  and  his  command,  Reno  moved  down 
the  river  along  the  crest  of  the  bluffs  on  the  side  oppo- 
site the  Indian  village.  Notwithstanding  that  firing  had 
been  heard  over  beyond  the  village,  nothing  was  now 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  325 

seen  or  heard  to  indicate  where  Ouster  and  his  men 
might  be. 

Accordingly,  Eeno  halted  on  a  high  bluff  and  sent 
out  Captain  Weir  with  his  troop  to  try  and  open 
communication  with  Ouster.  Weir  sent  back  word 
that  it  was  impossible  to  advance,  as  he  was  heav- 
ily attacked  by  a  large  force  of  Indians.  He  was 
therefore  ordered  back  and  Keno  moved  his  command 
back  up  the  river  and  took  position  on  the  bluff  he 
had  first  occupied.  It  was  especially  well  adapted  to 
defence,  as  there  was  a  depression  into  which  he  placed 
his  horses  and  pack  train,  and  occupied  the  surround- 
ing crest  with  his  dismounted  cavalry.  The  Indians 
now  came  up,  surrounded,  and  attacked  him  in  force, 
keeping  up  the  assault  from  six  to  nine  o'clock  at  night, 
at  which  time  they  drew  off. 

In  this  affair  Reno's  casualties  were  eighteen  killed 
and  forty-six  wounded.  Reno  now  proceeded  to  deepen 
his  rifle  pits  and  to  strengthen  his  lines  by  using  boxes 
of  supplies  from  the  pack  train  and  the  bodies  of 
such  of  his  mules  and  horses  as  the  Indians  had 
killed  during  their  attack.  Between  two  and  three 
o'clock  the  next  morning  —  July  26th  —  the  Indians 
opened  a  heavy  fire  from  several  points  in  Reno's  vi- 
cinity that  overlooked  his  position,  so  completely  sur- 
rounding it  that  men  were  hit  in  the  rifle  pits  from 
the  opposite  side  from  which  they  were  fighting. 
About  half  past  nine  o'clock  the  savages  made  a  des- 
perate assault  upon  that  portion  of  the  line  held  by 
Troops  H  and  M,  almost  reaching  the  rifle  pits, 
when  Captain  Benteen  suddenly  sprang  forward  and 
led  the  men  against  them  in  a  gallant  and  unexpected 

counter-charge,  driving  them  back  in  great  confusion* 
22 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Reno  also  led  Troops  D  and  K  against  them  in  a  coun- 
ter-charge from  the  other  side  of  the  position  when 
they  had  charged  up  to  the  earthworks  so  close  as  to 
be  particularly  dangerous.  The  men,  especially  the 
wounded,  were  now  suffering  greatly  from  thirst,  it 
having  been  sixteen  hours  since  they  had  last  had  any 
drinking  water.  Accordingly,  volunteers  were  called 
for,  and  a  number  of  the  men  promptly  responded. 
Loaded  with  pails  and  canteens  and  protected  by  a 
skirmish  line  thrown  forward  under  Benteen,  they  de- 
scended to  the  stream  and  filled  them,  but  unfortu- 
nately several  of  the  men  were  killed  and  wounded  in 
the  attempt,  which  resulted  in  their  obtaining  enough 
water  to  somewhat  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  com- 
mand. 

About  noonday  the  Indians  began  to  withdraw 
and  cease  firing,  going  off  in  the  direction  of  their 
villages,  and  during  this  lull  in  the  action  the  men 
rushed  down  to  the  river  and  filled  their  canteens  and 
every  other  vessel  they  had  with  water,  although  a 
few  of  the  Indian  sharpshooters  annoyed  them  some- 
what by  firing  at  them.  Early  in  the  afternoon  the 
Indians  fired  the  grass  in  the  lowlands,  and  under  cover 
of  the  smoke  began  to  move  off  with  their  villages, 
and  later  in  the  day  a  good  view  was  had  by  the  troops 
of  the  immense  cavalcade,  numbering  at  least  four,  if 
not  five  thousand  warriors,  as  it  slowly  wound  over 
the  hills  toward  the  Big  Horn  Mountains.  Nothing 
had  been  heard  from  Ouster  since  Reno  left  him,  and 
many  were  the  surmises  as  to  where  he  had  gone  and 
what  had  become  of  him. 

The  night  of  the  26th  passed  without  any  notice- 
able event,  Reno  having  slightly  changed  his  location 


Arrival  of  Terry's  column  on  the  Ouster  battlefield. 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  327 

BO  as  to  insure  a  water  supply.  On  the  27th  the  dust 
of  a  moving  column  was  seen  to  be  approaching,  and 
shortly  a  scout  arrived  with  a  note  from  General  Terry 
(who  was  coming  up  with  Gibbon's  column),  saying  that 
Crow  scouts  had  reported  Ouster  whipped,  but  their  re- 
port was  not  believed.  At  eleven  o'clock  General  Terry 
rode  into  Eeno's  intrenchments.  Two  hours  later  the 
fate  of  Ouster  and  his  command  was  known.  General 
Sheridan,  in  his  official  report,  tersely  sums  up  all  that 
we  actually  know  of  the  affair  in  these  words:  "  The 
only  real  evidence  of  how  they  came  to  meet  their  fate 
was  the  testimony  of  the  field  where  it  overtook  them, 
...  no  officer  or  soldier  who  rode  with  him  into  the 
valley  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  having  lived  to  tell  the 
tale." 

From  the  point  where  Eeno  crossed  the  river  Ous- 
ter's trail  led  down  the  right  -bank  of  the  stream,  be- 
hind the  bluffs,  for  nearly  three  miles,  where  he  evi- 
dently attempted  a  crossing.  Here  it  turns  upon  itself, 
and  after  almost  completing  a  circle  crosses.  It  was 
lined  by  the  bodies  of  dead  officers,  men,  and  horses 
just  as  they  fell  beneath  the  deadly  bullets  of  the 
Sioux,  now  and  then  accentuated  at  the  foot  of  a  ravine 
or  on  the  top  of  a  knoll  with  a  line  of  dead  men  and 
horses,  showing  where  some  one  of  the  troops  had  made 
its  last  stand.  As  a  general  thing,  all  the  bodies  had 
been  stripped,  badly  mutilated,  and  scalped.  Our  losses 
in  this  action  were  General  Ouster  and  thirteen  com- 
missioned officers  and  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  men 
killed  and  two  officers  and  fifty-one  men  wounded,  a 
total  of  three  hundred  and  twenty-three  killed  and 
wounded.  General  Ouster  has  been  the  subject  of  much 
Iverse  criticism  in  this  his  closing  campaign.  Without 


328  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

impugning  the  motives  of  any  of  his  critics,  the  writer 
asks  their  attention  to  the  following  facts: 

General  Ouster  joined  his  regiment  after  the  cam- 
paign was  well  under  way.  The  last  newspaper  articles 
about  the  affairs  at  Red  Cloud,  Spotted  Tail,  and  other 
Northern  Indian  agencies  that  he  could  have  seen  be- 
fore he  left  civilization  for  the  upper  Missouri  stated 
that  none  of  the  agency  Indians  had  gone  to  join  the 
hostiles  under  Crazy  Horse  or  Sitting  Bull,  but  that 
they  were  still  at  the  agencies  drawing  rations.  Cer- 
tainly upon  the  day  when  he  received  his  final  instruc- 
tions from  General  Terry — he  could  not  possibly  have 
known  of  General  Crook's  fight  on  the  Rosebud  and 
the  fact  that  Crazy  Horse  and  his  following  had  joined 
Sitting  Bull  on  the  Little  Big  Horn. 

If  the  agency  Indians  had  not  joined  Sitting  Bull 
it  was  safe  enough  to  conclude  that  he  could  not  bring 
a  thousand  warriors  into  the  field. 

Was  General  Terry's  order  to  Custer  of  sufficient 
latitude  to  permit  him  clearly  within  its  scope  to  at- 
tack Sitting  Bull's  force?  Let  us  see.  "The  depart- 
ment commander  places  too  much  confidence  in  your 
zeal,  energy,  and  ability  to  wish  to  impose  upon  you 
precise  orders  which  might  hamper  your  action  when 
nearly  in  contact  with  the  enemy." 

Now,  from  Custer's  standpoint,  how  must  things 
have  impressed  him?  He  had  a  regiment  seven  hun- 
dred strong,  well  and  capably  officered.  Sitting  Bull 
could  not,  in  all  probability,  muster  a  thousand  war- 
riors.* If  the  published  reports  from  the  Indian  agen- 

*  On  July  22,  1876,  at  the  repeated  and  earnest  request  of 
General  Sheridan,  the  Honorable  Secretary  of  the  Interior  au- 
thorized the  military  to  assume  control  of  all  the  Indian  agencies 


THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN  OF  1876.  329 

cies  were  true,  five  hundred  would  be  nearer  the  mark. 
It  was  almost  certain  that  some  of  Sitting  Bull's  war- 
riors had  seen  or  would  see  Ouster's  column  before  he 
could  communicate  with  Terry  or  Gibbon,  in  which  case 
he  would  probably  decamp.  He  was  "nearly  in  con- 
tact with  the  enemy." 

Under  the  peculiar  condition  of  affairs,  bearing  in 
mind  the  only  information  he  could  possibly  have  had 
concerning  Sitting  Bull's  forces,  was  Ouster  justified,  in 
a  military  sense  and  within  the  scope  of  his  orders,  in 
making  the  attack? 

In  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  he  was  within  his 
orders  and  fully  justified  from  a  military  standpoint  in 
so  doing. 

in  the  Sioux  country.  A  careful  count  was  made  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. The  Indians  at  Red  Cloud  agency  numbered  only  forty- 
seven  hundred  and  sixty,  nearly  one  half  less  than  had  been  re- 
ported by  the  agent  and  to  whom  issues  were  made.  The  count 
at  Spotted  Tail's  agency  developed  less  than  five  thousand, 
whereas  nearly  double  that  number  had  been  constantly  issued 
to.  A  count  at  the  Missouri  River  agencies  exhibited  the  fact 
that  there  were  present  from  one  half  to  one  third  less  than  had 
been  reported  present  and  (ostensibly)  issued  to.  It  was  then 
easy  to  see  where  the  small  bands  originally,  and  upon  whom  the 
war  was  being  waged,  obtained  their  strength  and  supplies. 


CHAPTEE  XV. 

THE   CLOSE    OF   THE   SIOUX   CAMPAIGN   AND   THE   NEZ 
PERCES'   WONDERFUL   FLIGHT. 

AT  this  late  day  it  is  difficult  to  get  an  absolutely  cor- 
rect idea  of  the  Sioux  campaign  of  1876  and  its  attend- 
ant difficulties,  together  with  the  hardships  endured 
by  the  men,  as  well  as  all  the  risks  and  hard  knocks  of 
the  campaign,  so  in  addition  to  the  War  Department 
.official  reports  covering  the  operations  of  the  troops  in 
this  movement  I  am  also  under  obligations  for  graphic 
descriptions  of  the  fight  at  Slim  Buttes  and  some  inci- 
dents of  the  hardships  of  the  march  to  both  the  Hon. 
John  F.  Finerty  (former  correspondent  of  the  Chicago 
Times,  and  author  of  War  Path  and  Bivouac;  or,  The 
Conquest  of  the  Sioux,  published  for  the  author,  79 
Dearborn  Street,  Chicago,  1890)  and  Captain  Charles 
King,  U.  S.  A.  (author  of  Campaigning  with  Crook. 
Harper  &  Brothers,  Franklin  Square,  New  York,  1890), 
as  well  as  to  officers  and  enlisted  men  who  have  occa- 
sionally given  me  information  bound  up  in  personal 
experience  not  to  be  found  in  official  reports  or  re- 
corded in  published  narratives. 

General  Crook  had  refitted  his  command  since  the 
battle  on  the  Rosebud,  and  on  August  3d,  while  on 
Goose  Creek,  he  was  joined  by  General  Merritt  with  the 
330 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.        331 

Fifth.  Cavalry,  making  Crook's  effective  force  nearly 
two  thousand  fighting  men.  On  August  4th  the  com- 
mand moved  out,  each  man  with  the  suit  he  had  on  only 
— no  change  of  clothing  being  allowed — but  each  sol- 
dier carried  on  his  person  four  days'  rations,  one  hun- 
dred rounds  of  ammunition,  a  single  blanket,  and  a 
poncho  (a  waterproof  piece  of  rubber-covered  canvas). 
On  this  new  march  General  Merritt  became  chief  of 
cavalry.  Colonel  Royall  retained  his  old  command  of 
the  Second  and  Third  Cavalry.  General  Carr  led  the 
Fifth  Cavalry.  The  twenty-five  companies  were  formed 
into  five  battalions.  Frank  Gruard  and  Buffalo  Bill 
were  in  advance  with  a  select  body  of  scouts.  Colonel 
Stanton,  paymaster,  had  chief  command  of  the  irregu- 
lars (enlisted  Indians),  while  Major  Randall,  with  Chief 
Washakie,  directed  the  Shoshone  Indians. 

On  August  llth  Finerty  writes: 

"We  had  no  tents,  and  had  to  sleep  in  puddles. 
The  rain  kept  pouring  down  until  the  afternoon  of 
the  succeeding  day,  retarding  our  march  and  making 
every  man  of  the  command  feel  as  if  possessed  of  a 
devil.  Officers  and  men  slept  in  rain  and  dirt,  drank 
coarse  coffee  and  ate  hardtack  and  raw  bacon." 

August  13th: 

"  The  rain  and  mud  made  the  marching  terrible, 
and  some  of  Terry's  young  infantry  (recruits) — they 
had  met  General  Terry's  command,  and  remained  and 
marched  with  it  for  some  days — lay  down  exhausted 
in  the  dirt.  Many  of  them  had  to  be  placed  on  pack 
mules  or  carried  on  travois.  .  .  .  Every  company  of  the 
Second,  Third,  and  Fifth  Cavalry  had  to  abandon  or 
shoot  used-up  horses.  ...  We  made  thirty  miles  over 
a  most  infernal  country  before  halting.  Chambers's 


332  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

*  astonishing  infantry '  made  the  full  march — not  a  man 
fell  out  of  ranks.  .  .  .  The  Eoman  legions  or  the  army 
of  Austerlitz  never  made  better  time  than  the  splendid 
detachments  of  the  Fourth,  Fourteenth,  and  Ninth  In- 
fantry. .  .  .  There  was  very  little  wood.  We  had  to 
sleep  at  night  in  pools  of  water,  thankful  to  get  a 
chance  to  lie  down." 

On  August  15th  he  says: 

"The  horses  staggered  in  the  columns  by  scores. 
Very  frequently  a  played-out  horse  would  fall  as  if  shot. 
Dozens  of  dismounted  cavalrymen  toiled  painfully 
along  over  steep,  rugged  hills  in  the  rear  of  the  col- 
umn. .  .  .  Our  whole  line  of  march  was  dotted  with 
dead  or  abandoned  horses.  Some  of  the  newly  enlisted 
infantry  grew  desperate,  their  feet  bleeding  and  their 
legs  swollen  from  the  continuous  tramp.  .  .  .  Many  of 
the  young  foot  soldiers  seemed  injured  for  life. 

"  Gibbon's  men  marched  like  Eomans,  Chambers's 
men  rivalled  O'Leary  and  "Weston  (but  these  were  all 
veterans)." 

August  24th: 

"  Thunder  and  everlasting  wet  had  pursued  us,  but 
the  night  of  August  23,  1876,  was  the  most  utterly 
miserable  so  far  experienced.  We  went  into  camp  about 
two  hundred  yards  from  our  first  bivouac  in  some  low- 
lands under  a  range  of  sand  hills  flooded  with  water 
and  fully  a  mile  from  wood.  Clothing  and  blankets 
thoroughly  soaked,  having  neither  tents  nor  camp  fires. 
To  keep  dry  was  impossible;  to  keep  warm  equally  so, 
for  a  cold  north  wind  set  in  at  nightfall." 

August  27th: 

"The  rain  and  heat  of  the  bivouac  fires  had  so 
shrunken  my  boots  that  I  could  not  remove  them.  I 
was  afraid  to  do  so  because  I  would  have  been  unable 


THE  CLOSE  OP  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.        333 

to  get  them  on  again.    Several  men  did  not  have  their 
boots  off  for  two  weeks  at  least." 

August  28th: 

"  That  night  we  had  thunder,  lightning,  and  a 
deluge.  The  horses  sank  in  the  mud  up  to  their  knee 
joints.  Soldiers'  shoes  were  pulled  off  in  trying  to  drag 
their  feet  through  the  sticky  slime.  '  Can  hell  be  much 
worse  than  this?'  said  an  officer  to  me  next  morning. 
He  was  cleaning  about  twenty  pounds  of  wet  clay  from 
his  boots  with  a  butcher  knife.  His  clothes  were  drip- 
ping, his  teeth  chattering,  and  his  nose  a  cross  between 
purple  and  indigo.  If  looking  like  the  devil  could  make 
a  man  fit  for  the  region  he  inquired  about  that  young 
lieutenant  was  a  most  eligible  candidate. 

"  If  any  reader  considers  this  picture  overdrawn 
I  call  upon  any  man  in  that  column,  from  General 
Crook  down  to  the  humblest  private,  to  contradict  me. 
I  wish  to  let  the  American  people  know  what  their  gal- 
lant army  had  to  undergo  in  fighting  these  red  scoun- 
drels who  have  too  long  been  treated  as  chiefs  and 
equals.  .  .  .  Crook  is  severe,  and  I'd  rather  be  with 
Terry  as  regards  food,  shelter,  and  clean  flannel,  but  he 
goes  for  the  Indians  as  one  of  themselves  would  do,  and 
has  shown  that  an  American  army  can  stand  without 
much  growling  or  the  slightest  approach  to  mutiny 
more  than  any  other  troops  upon  this  earth." 

Nevertheless  worse  was  to  come.  Up  to  this  time 
General  Crook's  command  had  always  had  enough  to 
eat,  such  as  it  was;  but  hunting  the  Sioux  through  Mon- 
tana had  exhausted  the  rations  of  the  command.  On 
the  4th  of  September  it  was  decided  to  move  to  Dead- 
wood,  in  Dakota,  where  supplies  would  be  sent  to  meet 
them.  It  was  two  hundred  miles  distant,  and  the  com- 
mand had  only  two  and  a  half  days'  half  rations  on 


334:  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

hand.  They  must  be  made  to  last  seven  days  somehow, 
so  the  troops  were  put  on  quarter  rations,  and  the 
column  was  put  in  motion  for  the  Black  Hills. 

But  instead  of  the  weather  becoming  better  it  seemed 
to  grow  worse.  The  rain  was  incessant,  and  the  country 
through  which  the  troops  were  now  marching  was  very 
rough.  The  grass  had  been  burned  off  by  the  Sioux, 
firewood  was  very  scarce,  and  what  could  be  found  was 
so  water  soaked  that  it  was  next  to  impossible  to  kindle 
a  fire  with  which  to  cook  the  poor  remnant  of  their 
rations,  and  the  rations  of  both  sugar  and  salt  were 
finally  completely  washed  out  of  the  pack  saddles.  The 
men  ate  their  last  hardtack  on  September  6th,  and  so  on 
that  day  the  horses  which  had  to  be  shot  or  abandoned 
on  the  trail  were  butchered  and  the  flesh  issued  as  a 
meat  ration.  It  was  very  tough  meat,  but  very  much 
better  than  nothing,  in  fact,  it  was  that  or  nothing. 
The  next  night,  September  7th,  Captain  King  writes  as 
follows:  "  We  were  halted  near  the  head  of  Grand  Kiver. 
Here  a  force  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  of  the  Third 
Cavalry,  with  about  all  the  serviceable  horses  of  that 
regiment,  were  pushed  ahead  under  Major  Anson  Mills, 
with  orders  to  find  the  Black  Hills,  buy  up  all  the  sup- 
plies he  could  in  Deadwood,  and  then  hurry  back  to 
meet  us/' 

Before  the  command  had  broken  camp  on  the 
next  morning  after  Major  Mills  had  started  for  the 
Black  Hills  settlements  to  obtain  supplies  for  the 
hungry  troops  a  courier  came  post  haste  to  General 
Crook  with  the  information  that  Mills  had  cut  the 
trail  of  some  Sioux,  followed  it,  and  attacked  and 
captured  a  village  of  forty  lodges,  the  Indian  pony 
herd,  and  a  large  amount  of  supplies,  and  was  now 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.       335 

holding  it  against  an  attempt  by  the  Sioux  to  recap- 
ture it. 

Here  was  a  good  specimen  of  an  American  officer. 
He  was  on  his  way  with  a  detachment  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  to  bring  supplies  to  an  almost  starving 
command.  His  own  men  were  without  rations,  and  his 
horses  worn  to  the  bone  and  so  weak  that  it  was  a  ques- 
tion whether  they  could  all  get  through  to  Deadwood. 
But  here  was  an  opportunity  for  a  blow  at  the  Sioux, 
whom  the  whole  command  had  been  hunting  for  weeks 
past.  It  involved  hard  fighting  wijth  a  small  force,  with 
an  equal  chance  of  victory  or  defeat.  Mills  was  not 
the  man  to  hesitate  on  an  equal  chance,  and  he  knew 
that  even  if  he  should  be  defeated  General  Crook's 
forces  would  get  through  to  Deadwood  somehow,  and  so 
he  abandoned  the  road  to  Deadwood,  and  promptly  took 
up  the  trail  for  the  enemy.  It  was  soon  evident  that 
he  was  approaching  an  Indian  village,  and  he  moved 
carefully  and  cautiously,  sending  his  scout  Frank  Gruard 
ahead  on  the  trail  to  reconnoitre.  At  dark  he  went  into 
camp,  and  then  felt  his  way  forward  with  Gruard  and  a 
few  soldiers  until  he  had  located  the  village,  which  was 
several  miles  beyond  where  his  own  men  lay.  Before 
daylight  his  command  had  quietly  moved  up  to  within 
a  mile  or  so  of  the  Indian  village,  where  he  dismounted 
all  his  men  except  twenty-five,  under  Lieutenant 
Schwatka.  With  these  dismounted  men  he  crept  up 
to  the  ravine  in  which  the  village  was  located,  and  as 
soon  as  his  dismounted  men  were  in  position  he  ordered 
Lieutenant  Schwatka  to  charge  in  and  capture  the  pony 
herd,  which  was  grazing  outside  of  the  Indian  encamp- 
ment. The  herd  stampeded,  and  before  Schwatka  could 
capture  them  all  part  of  them  rushed  into  the  Indian 


336  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

village  and  awoke  the  sleeping  warriors.  At  the  same 
time  Lieutenants  Von  Leutwitz  and  Crawford,  each  at 
the  head  of  fifty  dismounted  troopers,  rushed  into  the 
village  from  either  side  and  opened  fire  on  the  tepees, 
and  quickly  drove  out  the  surprised  Sioux,  who  after  a 
desultory  fight  broke  for  the  neighbouring  hills  and 
ravines,  in  which  they  took  refuge  and  cover,  and  in 
turn  opened  fire  on  the  troops,  who  had  now  occupied 
and  were  holding  their  captured  village.  As  soon  as 
Major  Mills  had  secured  possession  of  it  he  found  it 
was  filled  with  an  abundance  of  dried  meat  and  other 
Indian  supplies,  and  he  also  realized  that  he  would 
have  hard  work  to  hold  it,  as  the  Sioux  were  already 
beginning  to  increase  in  number  on  the  adjacent  hills, 
and  he  knew  that  this  camp  must  be  only  an  outlying 
one  of  the  main  body  of  Sioux,  which  was  probably 
within  less  than  a  day's  journey.  Accordingly,  he  hur- 
ried off  despatches  to  General  Crook,  threw  up  rifle 
pits  on  the  outskirts  of  the  village  to  protect  his  men, 
brought  forward  his  own  pack  train,  and  corralled  his 
horses,  the  pack  mules,  and  Indian  ponies  under  guard 
in  the  middle  of  the  village,  and  proposed  to  hold  on 
all  he  knew  until  General  Crook's  arrival.  In  a  few 
moments  after  receiving  Mills's  despatch  General  Crook, 
at  the  head  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  cavalrymen,  was 
in  the  saddle  and  on  the  way  to  Mills's  assistance,  with 
orders  for  the  rest  of  the  command  to  push  on  steadily 
after  him.  In  the  meantime  the  Sioux  were  most  tena- 
cious in  their  attempt  to  regain  their  village,  and  Mills 
had  to  use  all  his  ability  and  skill  to  keep  possession 
of  what  he  had  captured.  A  little  after  eleven  o'clock, 
however,  General  Crook  came  riding  in  to  his  assistance 
with  his  re-enforcement  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men, 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.        337 

much  to  Mills's  relief,  for,  with  plenty  of  ammunition, 
which  the  re-enforcements  brought  up,  three  hundred 
soldiers,  and  forty  armed  packers,  which  now  made  up 
the  united  forces,  they  could  stand  off  all  the  warriors 
that  the  Sioux  could  bring  against  them  until  the  ar- 
rival of  the  main  column,  which  they  knew  was  some- 
where on  the  road  steadily  plodding  on  in  their  direc- 
tion. 

General  Crook  had  scarcely  dismounted  when  his 
attention  was  arrested  by  a  sharp  action  that  was  going 
on  between  a  small  part  of  Major  Mills's  command  which 
was  trying  to  force  the  surrender  of  some  Indians  who 
had  taken  refuge  in  a  small  cavern  located  in  a  deep 
bush-overgrown  gully  at  one  end  of  their  village, 
thrown  up  rifle  pits  at  its  mouth  with  their  hands  and 
knives,  and,  despite  the  fact  that  the  troops  had  already 
had  several  casualties  in  killed  and  wounded,  were  still 
holding  their  own  against  them.  Stopping  the  fight, 
he  first  (through  the  interpreters)  demanded  their  sur- 
render, but  he  got  the  same  reply  that  they  had  given 
Major  Mills — jeers  and  defiance;  for  the  Indians  believed 
that  if  they  could  hold  out  that  succour  would  surely 
reach  them  from  their  friends,  who  they  knew  would 
soon  come  to  their  rescue.  General  Crook,  who  was 
undoubtedly  the  most  experienced  Indian  fighter  on  the 
ground,  and  who  had  seen  much  of  this  sort  of  fighting, 
brigadier  general  and  department  commander  though 
he  was,  promptly  assumed  command  of  the  attacking 
force,  and  as  Finerty,  who  witnessed  the  fight,  says,  "  he 
displayed  to  the  fullest  extent  his  eccentric  contempt 
for  danger.  No  private  soldier  could  more  expose  him- 
self than  did  the  general  and  the  officers  of  his  staff.  I 
expected  to  see  them  shot  down  every  moment."  It  was 


338  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

a  hot  fight.  The  savages  simply  would  not  surrender. 
Some  of  the  pluckiest  and  best  officers  on  the  frontier 
outside  of  General  Crook  took  part  in  it.  Major  Mills, 
Lieutenants  Charles  King,  Philo  Clarke,  and  J.  G. 
Bourke  of  the  cavalry,  and  Majors  J.  H.  Powell,  Burke, 
and  Munson  of  the  infantry,  were  all  there  leading  the 
men  and  fighting  by  their  side,  carbine  in  hand,  and 
time  and  again  they  swarmed  up  around  the  little 
ravine  only  to  realize  that  it  would  be  death  to  attempt 
to  go  in  to  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  Finally  General 
Crook,  annoyed  and  exasperated  at  the  casualties  among 
his  men,  formed  a  cordon  of  both  infantry  and  cavalry 
around  the  mouth  of  the  ravine  and  opened  an  incessant 
rain  of  fire  into  it.  In  a  few  moments  the  squaws  began 
chanting  the  death  song,  and  the  wails  of  the  children 
were  piteous.  A  suspension  of  the  attack  was  immedi- 
ately ordered,  and  the  interpreters  offered  quarter  and 
good  treatment  for  the  women  and  children  if  the  war- 
riors would  let  them  come  out.  In  a  few  moments  this 
was  accepted,  and  General  Crook  stepped  up  to  the 
mouth  of  the  ravine  and  gave  his  hand  to  the  first  squaw 
who  came  out.  She  was  a  tall,  fine-looking  woman,  with 
a  papoose  strapped  to  her  back.  Evidently  very  much 
frightened,  and  probably  from  some  Indian's  descrip- 
tion, she  instantly  recognised  the  Gray  Fox,  as  all  the 
Indians  termed  General  Crook,  and  clung  to  his  hand 
with  all  her  strength,  knowing  from  his  reputation  that 
he  would  protect  her,  and  undoubtedly  fearing  that 
some  of  the  now  thoroughly  angered  enlisted  men 
might  take  vengeance  on  her.  Eleven  other  squaws 
and  six  children  soon  followed  her,  but  the  warriors  re- 
fused to  surrender,  and  as  soon  as  the  women  and  chil- 
dren were  safely  away,  courageously  if  desperately 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.        339 

opened  fire  on  the  troops  and  once  more  began  the 
fight.  For  two  long  hours  the  soldiers  sent  bullets 
into  the  little  ravine,  and  then,  noticing  a  partial  re- 
laxation in  the  volume  of  fire  on  the  part  of  the  Indians, 
General  Crook  ordered  a  third  cessation  of  hostilities, 
and  once  more  summoned  them  to  surrender.  After  a 
few  moments  of  evident  consultation,  American  Horse, 
a  tall,  broad-shouldered  Sioux  chief,  with  a  chest  and 
neck  like  a  bull  buffalo,  came  slowly  out  of  the  mouth 
of  the  cave,  and,  noticing  where  General  Crook  stood, 
came  haltingly  forward  and  presented  him  his  rifle,  butt 
foremost,  in  token  of  complete  surrender,  and  asked  for 
the  lives  of  the  warriors  who  had  fought  with  him.  As 
for  himself,  he  was  mortally  wounded,  having  been  shot 
through  the  abdomen.  Through  his  interpreter  Gen- 
eral Crook  assured  him  that  if  they  would  surrender 
neither  he  nor  his  warriors  would  be  harmed;  ac- 
cordingly, American  Horse  beckoned  to  them,  and  the 
few  warriors  that  were  left  came  out  and  gave  up  their 
arms  and  the  fight  was  over.  Among  the  men  whom 
we  lost  in  this  affair  was  quite  a  noted  scout,  Jim  White, 
a  man  who  used  to  follow  around  W-  F.  Cody — Buffalo 
Bill — like  his  shadow,  and  so  far  as  he  could  do  so 
imitate  him  in  dress  and  bearing.  White  was  plucky 
and  brave,  but  without  anything  like  the  ability  or 
experience  of  Cody  as  a  guide,  fighter,  and  frontiers- 
man. Dried  buffalo  meat  was  found  in  abundance  in 
the  Indian  tents  and  distributed  to  the  main  command 
as  it  defiled  into  the  Indian  village  at  about  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  just  as  the  fight  with  American  Horse 
was  over.  Crook  now  had  nearly  two  thousand  fighting 
men  for  duty,  and  no  apprehension  was  felt  as  to  Crazy 
Horse  and  his  warriors,  so  the  whole  command  was  un- 


34:0  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

saddled  and  the  horses  turned  out  to  graze  on  the  first 
mouthful  of  fairly  good  grass  that  they  had  seen  for 
many  days.  The  superbly  brave  chief  American  Horse 
was  taken  to  the  hospital  tent,  and  the  surgeons  did 
what  they  could  to  assuage  his  sufferings,  but  before  the 
light  of  another  day  his  soul  had  sought  the  happy  hunt- 
ing grounds  of  his  race  and  people.  As  a  chief  he  stood 
high,  and  deservedly  so,  among  the  Sioux,  and  his  death 
was  a  distinct  loss  to  his  tribe  at  this  especial  juncture. 
In  this  Indian  village  were  found  five  horses  of  the 
Seventh  Cavalry  and  one  of  the  regimental  guidons 
carried  by  Ouster's  ill-fated  command,  together  with 
Colonel  Miles  Keogh's  gauntlets  and  several  other 
relics  of  the  annihilated  battalion  of  the  Seventh  Cav- 
alry. At  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  Crazy 
Horse  and  six  or  eight  hundred  warriors  made  an  at- 
tack on  General  Crook's  forces  with  the  intent  to  rescue 
American  Horse  and  his  village.  He  had  probably  hur- 
ried to  the  rescue  with  what  warriors  he  had  near  him 
at  the  first  information  that  reached  him  from  Ameri- 
can Horse,  and  as  the  Indians  who  had  notified  him 
had  counted  Mills's  forces  only,  he  now  came  dashing 
down  from  the  hills  confident  in  his  own  strength  and 
determined  to  make  short  work  of  Mills  and  his  com- 
mand. In  a  few  moments  the  whole  of  General  Crook's 
forces  were  moving  to  meet  him.  It  was  too  late,  and 
the  worn-out  horses  were  too  tired  to  follow  the  In- 
dians that  day,  so  everything  in  the  way  of  animals 
was  quickly  put  under  cover  in  one  of  the  inlying 
ravines,  and  the  infantry  and  all  the  cavalry  dis- 
mounted promptly  moved  out  and  hurried  up  the  hill- 
sides as  skirmishers.  At  first  Crazy  Horse  and  his 
mounted  warriors  moved  boldly  upon  them,  but  in 


THE  CLOSE  OF  THE  SIOUX  CAMPAIGN.       341 

about  an  hour  the  astonished  and  discomfited  savages 
gave  way  and  took  cover.  Where  all  the  men  that 
suddenly  poured  out  of  the  little  valley  and  con- 
fronted him  came  from  must  have  sorely  puzzled  the 
doughty  Indian  chief,  but  after  he  had  lost  a  few 
killed  and  a  number  wounded  he  recognised  the  fact 
that  General  Crook's  forces  were  too  strong  for  his 
command  to  fight  successfully,  and,  accordingly,  he 
gave  orders  to  retreat,  and  at  dark  the  Sioux  sullenly 
fell  back  into  the  hills  and  gave  up  the  contest. 

It  had  been  a  skirmishing  fight  only,  with  about 
thirty  casualties  altogether  upon  our  side,  but  Mills's 
plucky  fight  of  the  morning  had  given  the  whole  com- 
mand something  to  eat,  and  it  held  the  Indian  village 
with  all  its  paraphernalia  and  three  hundred  fine  In- 
dian ponies  besides,  while  the  Indians,  killed  and 
wounded  outnumbered  ours  two  to  one.  It  had  been 
the  best  day  of  this  campaign,  and  all  the  well  men 
bivouacked  contentedly.  But  in  this  book  we  can 
spend  only  a  few  lines  more  on  this  Sioux  campaign. 
General  Crook's  troops  met  supplies  sent  out  to  meet 
them  while  they  were  encamped  on  Willow  Creek  on 
the  morning  of  September  13th,  and  a  few  days  later 
they  were  in  the  frontier  settlement  of  Deadwood,  Da- 
kota, and  the  hardships  of  this  year's  campaign  against 
the  Indians  were  over. 

Once  on  the  war  path,  however,  the  Sioux  had  to  be 
fought  to  a  finish,  and  on  October  21,  1876,  Colonel 
Miles  (now  Lieutenant-General  Miles),  in  a  council 
near  Big  Dog  River,  held  at  the  request  of  Sitting 
Bull,  offered  him  peace  if  he  would  come  into  the 
reservation  on  the  terms  offered  by  the  Indian  Bureau. 

This  he  flatly  refused  to  do,  and,  on  being  told  that  his 
23 


342  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

refusal  would  be  regarded  as  an  act  of  hostility,  he  and 
his  warriors  instantly  took  up  a  position  for  a  fight. 
General  Miles,  notwithstanding  Sitting  Bull's  forces 
greatly  outnumbered  his  command,  promptly  attacked, 
defeated,  and  drove  the  Indians  in  a  running  fight  for 
nearly  forty  miles.  Sitting  Bull,  however,  with  part 
of  his  warriors  escaped  across  the  lines  into  British  ter- 
ritory, but  on  October  27th  over  four  hundred  lodges 
of  Sitting  Bull's  following  with  about  two  thousand 
men,  women,  and  children  surrendered  to  General  Miles 
and  were  placed  on  one  of  the  Indian  reservations. 

On  January  8,  1877,  General  Miles  had  a  san- 
guinary fight  on  the  Tongue  Eiver  with  Crazy  Horse 
and  six  hundred  warriors,  the  Indians  occupying  a 
canon  in  a  spur  of  the  Wolf  Mountain  range.  The 
ground  was  covered  with  snow  and  ice  to  a  depth  in 
some  places  of  over  three  feet,  and  the  latter  part  of 
the  engagement  was  fought  in  a  blinding  snowstorm, 
"  the  troops  stumbling  and  falling  in  scaling  the  ice- 
and  snow-covered  cliffs,"  from  which  the  Indians  were 
finally  driven  by  repeated  charges,  with  a  serious  loss 
to  them  in  killed  and  wounded,  and  were  followed  by 
the  troops  through  the  Wolf  Mountains  toward  the 
Big  Horn  range.  As  a  direct  result  of  this  winter's 
campaign,  Crazy  Horse,  Little  Wolf,  and  others  of  the 
hostiles  came  in  and  surrendered  at  Spotted  Tail  and 
Eed  Cloud  agencies  during  the  months  of  April  and 
May  of  that  year,  Crazy  Horse  bringing  in  and  surren- 
dering with  himself  at  the  Red  Cloud  agency  over  two 
thousand  Indians. 

During  the  ensuing  four  years  there  was  almost 
constant  trouble  with  some  of  the  bands  of  hostile 
Sioux,  but  our  troops  steadily  followed  them  on  the 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.      343 

war  path,  and,  after  severe  fighting,  they  were  com- 
pelled to  surrender  to  our  forces  and  come  into  the 
Indian  agencies  and  take  up  their  abode  on  the  reserva- 
tions. Sitting  Bull  himself,  however,  for  a  long  time 
kept  within  the  British  possessions  and  well  beyond 
our  reach  until  July  20,  1881,  when,  worn  out  with  anx- 
iety, his  influence  gone,  and  his  following  reduced  to 
comparatively  a  mere  handful,  he  came  into  Fort  Bu- 
ford,  Dakota,  and  surrendered  to  the  commanding  offi- 
cer, together  with  forty-five  warriors,  sixty-seven 
women,  and  seventy-three  children,  glad  to  abandon 
the  war  path  on  assurance  of  his  personal  safety.  To 
recount  in  detail  the  Indian  fighting  upon  our  fron- 
tier during  the  last  thirty-five  years  would  carry  this 
book  far  beyond  the  limits  within  which  it  must  be 
kept,  and  as  one  Indian  fight  is  in  many  respects  simi- 
lar to  another  it  would  only  weary  the  reader. 


The  Nez  Perce  campaign  of  1877,  of  which  I  am 
about  to  write,  began  in  the  Territory  of  Idaho  on  the 
Pacific  slope  west  of  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains,  and 
finished  at  the  north  end  of  the  Bear  Paw  Mountains 
in  the  Territory  of  Dakota,  the  Indians  in  their  flight 
and  the  soldiers  in  their  pursuit  having  in  the  mean- 
time crossed  three  ranges  of  mountains  (the  Bitter 
Root,  the  Rocky,  and  the  Snow  ranges)  and  passed 
through  portions  of  the  Territories  of  Idaho,  Wyoming, 
and  Montana  to  Dakota. 

The  campaign  was  the  outcome  of  Chief  Joseph  of 
the  nontreaties — Nez  Perce  Indians — refusing  to  give 
up  the  Wallula  Valley  in  Idaho  to  settlement  by  the 
whites  and  with  the  other  bands  of  the  Nez  Perce  In- 


344:  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

dians  go  upon  and  occupy  either  the  Nez  Peree  or  the 
Lapwai  Reservations.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Wallula 
Valley  was  not  the  fixed  residence  of  Chief  Joseph, 
White-Bird,  or  Too-hul-hul-Sote,  the  head  men  of  the 
nontreaty  Nez  Perces — that  is,  of  those  Indians  of  the 
Nez  Perce  tribes  who  would  not  accept  the  reservation 
system.  It  was  a  splendid  hunting  ground,  though,  and 
capable  of  fine  development  agriculturally.  Brigadier- 
General  0.  0.  Howard,  the  commander  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  the  Columbia,  which  included  the  Nez  Perce 
tribe  within  its  geographical  limits,  was  somewhat  ap- 
prehensive of  trouble  with  the  nontreaty  Indians,  and 
did  all  in  his  power  to  persuade  these  Indians  to  accept 
the  treaty  as  agreed  to  by  the  main  body  and  come  and 
live  upon  the  Lapwai  Reservation.  Chief  Joseph  seemed 
at  the  time  to  have  made  up  his  mind  to  do  so — in  fact, 
he  tacitly  agreed  to  do  so,  but  asked  for  thirty  days,  or 
until  June  14th,  in  which  to  persuade  his  people  to  that 
end,  and  everything  seemed  to  be  fairly  and  peacefully 
settled,  but  on  the  date  named  (June  14,  1877),  instead 
of  entering  upon  the  Lapwai  Reservation,  his  following 
began  murdering,  plundering,  and  outraging  the  set- 
tlers and  their  families  at  Cottonwood,  Idaho,  and  along 
the  banks  of  the  Salmon  River.  General  Howard,  who 
was  at  Fort  Lapwai,  at  once  threw  forward  Captain 
Perry  with  two  small  troops  of  cavalry,  numbering 
ninety  men,  all  the  available  force  then  at  the  post,  to 
the  defence  of  the  settlers  at  Mount  Idaho,  upon  which 
hamlet  they  were  concentrating,  with  orders  to  find  and 
attack  Chief  Joseph  and  his  band  if  he  was  in  the 
vicinity.  Captain  Perry  with  his  command  and  pack 
train  left  Fort  Lapwai  on  the  night  of  the  15th  of  June, 
and,  having  crossed  Craig's  Mountain,  he  reached 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.      345 

Grangeville,  fifty-eight  miles  distant,  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  16th.  Here  he  received  information  that  Chief 
Joseph  was  at  White  Bird  Canon,  sixteen  miles  dis- 
tant. Accompanied  by  ten  armed  citizens,  he  made  a 
night  march  for  that  place,  and  came  in  sight  of  Jo- 
seph's camp  a  little  after  daybreak.  It  was  about  four 
miles  distant,  and  he  at  once  moved  down  the  moun- 
tain to  the  attack.  Joseph's  force,  which  outnumbered 
his  nearly  if  not  quite  three  to  one,  and  was  equally  as 
well  armed,  perceived  his  advance,  and  at  once  made 
preparations  to  meet  him.  Joseph  sent  White  Bird  to 
attack  Captain  Perry's  force  in  flank,  while  he  lay  in 
ambush,  covering  the  place  that  Perry's  men  would 
most  likely  attempt  to  occupy.  The  result  was  that 
after  a  severe  fight  Perry's  troops  were  beaten  and 
driven  back,  losing  Lieutenant  Theller  and  thirty-three 
men  killed.  Captain  Perry  got  the  rest  of  his  men  to- 
gether, however,  and  fell  back  coolly — so  much  so  that 
the  Indians  had  no  stomach  to  follow  him  far.  He  went 
to  Grangeville  to  give  protection  to  the  people  assem- 
bled there,  refit  his  command,  and  ask  for  re-enforce- 
ments. 

Chief  Joseph  had  shown  himself  a  capable  leader, 
and  naturally  his  following  was  very  much  elated 
over  their  first  fight  with  the  soldiers.  General  How- 
ard hurried  forward  what  troops  he  could  get,  and  on 
June  22d  he  took  the  field  in  person  at  the  head  of 
one  company  of  the  Fourth  Artillery,  Captain  Marcus 
P.  Miller  (now  Brigadier-General  M.  P.  Miller,  retired), 
armed  and  operating  as  infantry  five  companies  of  the 
Twenty-first  Infantry  and  two  troops  of  cavalry,  the 
whole  force  aggregating  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
men  for  duty.  On  the  26th  he  reached  White  Bird 


346  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

Canon  and  buried  Captain  Perry's  dead  of  the  action 
on  June  17th.  On  the  28th  he  moved  to  the  crossing 
of  the  Salmon  River,  where  he  was  joined  by  four  com- 
panies of  the  Fourth  Artillery,  acting  as  infantry,  and 
Captain  Burton's  company  of  the  Twenty-first  Infan- 
try, giving  him  an  effective  force  of  four  hundred  men. 
Department  commander  though  he  was,  and  lacking 
an  arm  that  he  left  on  one  of  the  battlefields  of  our 
civil  war,  General  Howard  now  took  up  in  person  the 
pursuit  of  Chief  Joseph,  who  was  to  show  himself  one 
of  the  ablest  and  most  astute  Indian  warriors  of  this 
century  and  to  exhibit  a  military  intuition  as  to  evading 
his  pursuers,  taking  up  almost  unassailable  positions 
when  attacked,  always  fighting  his  forces  with  sound 
judgment  and  keeping  up  his  flight  with  a  tenacity  of 
purpose  that  was  little  short  of  marvellous  in  an  un- 
trained savage. 

In  this  sketch  of  Chief  Joseph's  fighting  and  pro- 
tracted flight  I  can  only  give  the  bare  outline  of 
the  campaign  for  want  of  space,  and  I  shall  therefore 
quote  from  time  to  time  only  the  condensed  official 
report.  On  July  3d,  while  near  Cottonwood,  Cap- 
tain Whipple,  of  the  First  Cavalry,  sent  forward  Lieu- 
tenant Rains,  a  most  capable  officer,  with  ten  men  to 
ascertain  the  strength  of  the  Indians,  who  were  said 
to  be  advancing  in  his  direction,  and  to  aid  a  citizen 
scout  named  Blewett,  whom  it  was  reported  was  last 
seen  with  the  Indians  in  full  pursuit  of  him.  Lieuten- 
ant Rains  and  his  men  were  ambuscaded  and  all  killed. 
Chief  Joseph  and  his  following  at  this  time  numbered 
about  three  hundred  warriors  and  probably  two  hun- 
dred or  more  women  and  children,  with  a  herd  of  not 
less  than  fifteen  hundred  ponies  and  horses,  which  the 


THE  NBZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.      347 

squaws  drove  ahead  of  the  command,  took  care  of,  and 
kept  in  good  condition  for  constant  remounts  for  the 
warriors.  In  fact,  the  squaws  were  as  good  as  another 
hundred  men,  as  they  did  all  the  camp  work,  cooked 
the  food,  and  set  up  the  tepees  at  night,  thereby  en- 
abling Joseph  to  use  all  his  men  on  the  righting  line. 
As  Joseph  swept  across  the  country  he  harried  the 
ranches  for  new  remounts,  carrying  with  him  all  the 
fresh  horses  and  leaving  the  troops,  who  were  following 
him,  only  his  own  worn-out  animals  as  remounts  when 
their  own  horses  gave  out.  For  ten  or  twelve  days  Jo- 
seph doubled  constantly  on  the  troops  in  pursuit  of  him, 
and  the  country  was  mountainous  and  extremely  diffi- 
cult to  operate  in.  General  Howard  says: 

"  The  2d  of  July  we  ascended  the  mountain  after 
forming  junction  with  Captain  Trimble's  command, 
now  consisting  of  his  own  company  and  McConville's 
twenty  volunteers.  Another  small  company  of  mounted 
volunteers,  under  Captain  Hunter,  had  joined  me  from 
the  vicinity  of  Dayton,  Wyoming  Territory.  The  ascent 
was  by  a  blind  trail,  exceedingly  steep  and  difficult,  and 
rendering  a  march  of  not  more  than  ten  miles  equiva- 
lent to  three  times  as  much  on  an  ordinary  road. 

"  A  heavy  rain  followed  by  thick  clouds  so  impeded 
the  command  that  several  pack  mules  were  killed  by 
rolling  down  the  mountain,  and  the  greater  part  of  two 
days  spent  in  completing  the  ascent.  Several  caches  of 
Indian  supplies  were  found  about  halfway  up  and  de- 
stroyed. Abundant  Indian  trails  showed  which  way 
the  enemy  had  gone — viz.,  toward  our  right." 

On  July  llth,  after  following  Joseph  over  and 
through  the  forests  and  hills,  and  hunting  for  him  in 
all  directions,  he  and  his  command  were  discovered  in 


34:8  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

a  deep  ravine  near  the  mouth  of  Cottonwood  Creek. 
General  Howard  says: 

"My  guide,  Mr.  Chapman,  assures  me  that  they 
can  escape  only  by  a  canon  on  my  left,  which  makes 
a  small  angle  with  the  river  and  leads  toward  my 
rear. 

"  The  next  bluff  in  that  direction  was  beyond  a 
deep  and  rocky  transverse  ravine  perpendicular  to  this 
canon.  I  instantly  order  my  howitzer  battery  and  Gat- 
ling  guns,  supported  by  Winters's  cavalry,  to  go  thither 
with  all  speed. 

"  Around  the  head  of  the  ravine  our  distance  was 
over  a  mile,  the  enemy  having  less  than  a  third  to  go, 
so  we  found  him  dismounted  and  in  position  already 
on  our  approach,  beyond  the  second  bluff,  while  some 
thirty  or  forty  mounted  Indians  galloped  just  beyond 
range  to  compass  my  left.  For  a  few  minutes  I  feared 
the  result  of  this  attempt,  when  just  in  time  Major 
Mason,  Twenty-first  Infantry,  department  inspector 
general,  appeared  close  by  with  Burton's  company  of 
infantry,  having  anticipated  my  order  (at  every  junc- 
ture Major  Mason  thus  has  supplemented  my  efforts). 
This  company  deploying  to  the  right  enabled  Winters 
to  take  care  of  his  left.  Firing  now  became  very  brisk. 
My  line  was  extended  to  the  left  by  the  cavalry  and  to 
the  right  by  the  infantry  and  artillery  'battalions, 
gradually  refusing  my  flanks  until  the  whole  was  en- 
veloped. Four  hundred  men  held  a  line  of  two  miles 
and  a  half  in  extent.  My  main  pack  train  had  passed 
by  this  position.  A  small  train  with  a  few  supplies  was 
on  the  road  nearer  us. 

"  The  Indian  flankers  by  their  rapid  movement 
struck  the  rear  of  the  small  train,  killed  two  of  the 
packers,  and  disabled  a  couple  of  mules  loaded  with 
howitzer  ammunition.  The  prompt  fire  from  Perry's 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.     349 

and  Whipple's  cavalry  saved  the  ammunition  from 
capture. 

"  The  enemy  manifests  extraordinary  boldness, 
planting  sharpshooters  at  available  points,  making 
charges  on  foot  and  on  horseback  with  all  manner  of 
savage  demonstrations.  These  attempts  are  success- 
fully resisted  at  every  part  of  the  line.  At  3.30  p.  M. 
a  spirited  counter-charge  is  made  on  the  right,  down 
into  a  ravine,  by  Companies  H  (Haughey's),  D  (Pol- 
lock's), E  (Miles's),  and  B  (Jocelyn's),  Twenty-first  In- 
fantry, A  and  part  of  E,  Fourth  Artillery,  participating. 
Captain  Miles,  commanding  the  infantry  battalion,  sup- 
ported by  Captain  Miller's  artillery  battalion,  led  in 
this  charge.  Captain  Bancroft,  Fourth  Artillery,  and 
Lieutenant  Williams,  Twenty-first  Infantry,  were 
wounded  about  this  time.  A  number  of  Indians  were 
killed  and  several  wounded  in  this  charge,  and  the 
ravine  cleared. 

"  Captain  Miller  a  little  later  led  a  second  charge 
near  the  centre,  Burton,  Haughey,  Eltonhead,  and 
Winters  with  their  companies  participating.  Lieuten- 
ant Wilkinson,  aide-de-camp,  by  my  direction,  mean- 
while, led  a  demonstration  on  the  right,  using  artillery 
and  infantry  and  every  available  man  from  the  cavalry, 
horse  holders,  orderlies,  extra-duty  men,  and  train. 
Lieutenant  Fletcher,  acting  aide-de-camp,  also  using  a 
howitzer  at  this  and  at  several  other  times  during  the 
battle,  did  effective  service  by  lodging  shells  within  the 
enemy's  barricade. 

"  Miller's  charge  gained  the  ridge  in  front  and  se- 
cured the  disputed  ravine  near  Winters's  left.  Further 
spasmodic  charges  on  the  left  by  the  enemy  were  re- 
pelled by  Perry's  and  Whipple's  cavalry,  dismounted, 
and  Morris's  artillery,  Company  G.  Yet  a  few  Indian 
sharpshooters  managed  to  so  annoy  every  man  who  ap- 
proached the  spring,  our  water  supply,  that  in  spite  of 


350  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

our  successful  charges  matters  were  not  very  bright  at 
dark.  During  the  night  stone  barricades  and  rifle  pits 
were  constructed  by  ourselves  and  the  enemy.  At  day- 
light the  12th  every  available  man  was  on  the  line. 
I  directed  that  food  should  be. cooked  and  coffee  made 
at  the  centre  and  carried  to  the  front,  but  we  had  first 
to  get  complete  possession  of  our  spring,  as  sufficient 
water  was  not  secured  in  the  night.  This  was  executed 
by  Captains  Miller  and  Perry,  using  Lieutenant  Otis's 
battery,  supported  by  Kodney's  company.  The  sharp- 
shooters were  driven  from  their  hiding  places  and  the 
spring  secured  against  recapture.  As  soon  as  every 
man  had  been  provided  with  food,  I  directed  that  the 
artillery  battalion  be  withdrawn  entirely  from  the 
lines,  thin  though  they  were  already,  and  that  the  lines 
be  held  by  the  infantry  and  cavalry  battalions.  It  may 
be  remembered  that  the  number  of  the  Indian  warriors 
and  the  number  of  men  that  I  could  put  on  the  line 
were  about  equal,  owing  to  the  fact  that  with  us  a 
large  number  are  necessarily  absorbed  in  holding  the 
horses  and  in  performing  extra  duty. 

"  Captain  Miller  withdrew  his  battalion  at  about  2.30 
p.  M.  (the  time  I  had  selected),  and  was  preparing  to 
execute  this  movement — viz.,  to  push  out  by  the  left 
flank,  piercing  the  enemy's  line  just  left  of  the  centre, 
cross  his  barricaded  ravine,  then  face  suddenly  to  the 
right  and  charge,  striking  the  Indian  position  in  re- 
verse, assisting  himself  by  a  howitzer. 

"  As  he  was  about  to  move,  a  dust  appeared  in  the 
distance  beyond  the  Indians'  position.  Our  glasses  re- 
vealed it  as  an  expected  supply  train,  escorted  by  Cap- 
tain Jackson's  company,  B,  of  the  First  Cavalry.  Im- 
mediately the  artillery  battalion  is  sent  to  meet  the 
newcomers.  With  a  little  skirmishing  and  delay  of  an 
hour,  the  train  was  brought  in  in  safety. 

"  Then  at  once  Captain  Miller,  instead  of  returning 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.      351 

to  our  position  with  the  train,  is  marching  slowly  in 
column  by  the  right  flank  toward  us;  when  just  at  the 
right  point  he  faces  quickly  to  the  left,  moves  steadily 
for  nearly  a  mile  across  our  front,  and  charges  the 
enemy's  position.  The  usual  attempt  to  double  his  left 
is  made  by  the  Indians,  when  a  reserved  company  (Kod- 
ney's)  in  Miller's  rear  deploys  and  flanks  the  flankers. 
For  a  few  minutes  there  is  stubborn  resistance  at  the 
enemy's  barricades.  Then  the  whole  line  gives  way. 
Immediately  the  pursuit  is  taken  up  by  the  infantry 
and  artillery  and  Winters's  cavalry  company,  dis- 
mounted, and  the  remaining  cavalry  as  soon  as  they  can 
saddle  and  mount.  Captain  Jackson's  company,  just 
arrived,  followed  the  Gatling  gun  in  support  at  a  trot 
as  far  as  the  bluff  overlooking  the  river.  The  howitzers 
are  brought  to  the  same  point  with  Trimble's  company, 
and  shot  and  shell  poured  into  the  retreating  masses  of 
Indians  and  ponies. 

"  They  are  closely  pursued  through  the  ravines  into 
the  deep  canon,  thence  to  the  river,  over  rocks,  down 
precipices,  and  along  trails  almost  too  steep  and  craggy 
to  traverse.  The  footmen  pursued  them  to  the  river 
opposite  the  Indian  camp. 

"  The  cavalry  worked  its  way  as  rapidly  as  it  could 
from  its  position  on  the  left  down  the  rugged  mountain 
steeps  to  the  deep  ford,  and  crossed  slowly  into  the 
Indian  camp,  and  was  strongly  posted  beyond  it,  while 
the  Gatling  guns  and  the  howitzers,  near  which  I  was 
observing,  were  doing  their  best  to  reach  the  Indians, 
who  were  fleeing  in  every  direction  up  the  heights  to 
the  left  of  Cottonwood  Creek  and  beyond  the  Clear- 
water. 

"  The  Indian  camp,  abandoned  in  haste,  had  their 
lodges  still  standing  filled  with  their  effects,  buffalo 
robes,  cooking  utensils,  food  cooking  on  the  fire,  flour, 
jerked  beef,  and  plunder  of  all  description." 


352  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

The  Indians  lost  twenty-three  warriors  killed  be- 
sides their  wounded,  the  troops  captured  twenty-three 
warriors  and  seventeen  women  and  children.  Our  loss 
was  thirteen  enlisted  men  killed  and  two  officers  and 
twenty-two  enlisted  men  wounded. 

Chief  Joseph  and  his  band,  however,  mounted  upon 
fleet  and  fresh  ponies,  were  already  away  over  the  hills 
and  heading  boldly  for  the  old  Lo  Lo  Trail.  Joseph, 
still  followed  by  General  Howard  and  his  troops,  was 
on  August  9th  at  Little  Big  Hole  Valley,  Montana. 
Word  had  been  sent  forward  to  Brigadier-General  John 
Gibbon,  the  commander  of  the  District  of  Montana,  and 
he  in  person  had  instantly  taken  up  the  pursuit.  The 
force  at  his  command  was  very  small,  but  without 
the  slightest  hesitation  he  took  the  trail  with  all  the 
officers  and  men  he  could  collect,  and  I  append  here- 
with an  account  of  the  battle  of  the  Big  Hole  as  given 
in  his  official  report.  Can  anything  more  thoroughly 
show  the  spirit  that  animates  the  officers  of  the  United 
States  army  than  this  official  report,  which  exhibits 
the  commanding  general  of  the  district  (a  division 
commander,  too,  ten  years  previously  in  our  civil  war), 
owing  to  the  paucity  of  his  force,  himself  in  line  of 
battle  supplying  the  place  of  a  needed  private,  as,  rifle 
in  hand,  he  leads  the  attack  of  the  savages,  with  the 
result  that  he  is  one  of  the  wounded  in  the  desperate 
action  that  follows? 

"  It  was  nearly  sunset  before  we  reached  Lieuten- 
ant Bradley's  position,  and  the  Indian  camp  was  still 
four  or  five  miles  distant.  The  train  was  now  brought 
up,  closely  parked  amid  the  brush  of  the  little  valley 
down  which  we  were  travelling,  and  the  animals  turned 
out  to  rest  and  feed.  No  fires  were  built,  and  after 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.  '   353 

posting  pickets,  all  laid  down  to  rest  until  eleven  o'clock. 
At  that  hour  the  command,  now  consisting  of  seven- 
teen officers,  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  men,  and 
thirty-four  citizens,  started  down  the  trail  on  foot,  each 
man  being  provided  with  ninety  rounds  of  ammuni- 
tion. The  howitzer  could  not  accompany  the  column 
in  consequence  of  the  quantity  of  fallen  timber  ob- 
structing the  trail  and  the  noise  which  would  have  to 
be  made  in  removing  it.  Orders  were  therefore  given 
that  at  early  daylight  it  should  start  after  us  with  a 
pack  mule,  loaded  with  two  thousand  rounds  of  extra 
ammunition.  The  thirty-four  citizens  who  volunteered 
to  accompany  us  being  joined  to  Lieutenant  Bradley's 
command,  the  advance  was  given  to  him,  and  the  col- 
umn moved  in  silence  down  the  trail,  the  night  being 
clear  and  starlight.  After  proceeding  about  three  miles 
the  country  opened  out  into  the  Big  Hole  Basin,  and 
still  following  the  trail,  guided  by  one  of  the  citizens 
who  knew  the  locality,  we  turned  to  the  left,  and  fol- 
lowing along  the  low  foothills,  soon  came  in  sight  of 
fires.  After  proceeding  about  a  mile  from  where  we 
emerged  from  the  mountains  we  passed  through  a  point 
of  timber  projecting  into  the  valley,  and  just  beyond 
encountered  a  large  herd  of  ponies  grazing  upon  the 
hillside.  As  we  silently  advanced  they  commenced 
neighing,  but  fortunately  did  not  become  alarmed,  and 
by  the  time  we  had  passed  through  the  herd  the  outline 
of  the  tepees  could  be  made  out  in  the  bottom  below. 
The  command  was  now  halted  and  all  laid  down  to  wait 
for  daylight.  Here  we  waited  for  two  hours  in  plain 
hearing  of  the  barking  dogs,  crying  of  babies,  and  other 
noises  of  the  camp.  Just  before  daylight  Sanno's  com- 
pany and  then  Comba's  were  sent  down  into  the  valley 
and  deployed  as  skirmishers.  As  day  began  to  break 
and  enable  me  to  make  out  the  ground  beneath  us,  I 
found  that  the  tepees,  in  the  form  of  an  open  V,  with 


354  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  apex  toward  us,  extended  along  the  opposite  side  of 
a  large  creek  some  two  or  three  hundred  yards  from  us. 
"  The  intervening  space  between  the  camp  and  the 
foot  of  the  slope  upon  which  we  stood  was  almost  en- 
tirely covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  willow  brush  in 
the  grassy  spaces  between  which  herds  of  ponies  were 
grazing.  A  deep  slough,  with  water  in  places  waist 
deep,  wound  through  this  bottom  from  right  to  left, 
and  had  to  be  crossed  before  the  stream  itself  could 
be  reached.  As  the  light  increased  Comba  and  Sanno 
were  ordered  to  move  forward,  then  Bradley  and  his 
citizens  on  the  left,  with  Rawn  and  Williams  in  sup- 
port. All  pushed  in  perfect  silence,  while  now  scarcely 
a  sound  issued  from  the  camp.  Suddenly  a  single  shot 
in  the  extreme  left  rang  out  on  the  clear  morning  air, 
followed  quickly  by  several  others,  and  the  whole  line 
pushed  rapidly  forward  through  the  brush.  Logan's 
company  being  sent  in  on  the  run  on  the  extreme  right, 
a  heavy  fire  was  at  once  opened  along  the  whole  line 
of  the  tepees,  the  startled  Indians  rushing  from  them 
in  every  direction,  and  for  a  few  moments  no  shots  were 
returned.  Comba  and  Sanno  first  struck  the  camp  at 
the  apex  of  the  V ,  crossed  them  in  a  stream,  and  de- 
livered their  fire  at  close  range  into  the  tepees  and 
the  Indians  as  they  passed  from  them.  Many  of  the 
Indians  broke  at  once  for  the  brush,  and,  sheltering 
themselves  behind  the  creek  bank,  opened  fire  on  the 
troops  as  they  came  into  the  open  ground.  This  was 
especially  the  case  on  the  right  or  upper  end  of  the 
camp  where  the  creek  made  a  bend  toward  our  line. 
As  Logan  and  the  right  of  the  line  swept  forward  our 
men  found  themselves  directly  at  the  backs  of  these  In- 
dians, and  here  the  greatest  slaughter  took  place.  In 
less  than  twenty  minutes  we  had  complete  possession  of 
the  whole  camp,  and  orders  were  given  to  commence  de- 
stroying it.  But  the  Indians  had  not  given  up  the 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  PLIGHT.      355 

fight,  and  while  a  portion  of  the  command  was  engaged 
in  setting  fire  to  the  tepees,  other  portions  were  occu- 
pied in  replying  to  the  rifle  shots  which  now  came  upon 
us  from  every  direction — the  brush,  the  creek  bank,  the 
open  prairie,  and  the  distant  hills.  The  fire  from  these 
latter  positions,  although  at  long  range,  was  by  far  the 
most  deadly,  and  it  soon  became  evident  that  the 
enemy's  sharpshooters,  hidden  behind  trees,  rocks,  etc., 
possessed  an  immense  advantage  over  us,  in  so  much 
that  we  could  not  compete  with  them.  At  almost  every 
crack  of  a  rifle  from  the  distant  hills  some  member  of 
the  command  was  sure  to  fall.  My  acting  adjutant, 
Lieutenant  C.  A.  Woodruff,  and  myself,  with  our 
horses,  were  wounded  at  this  time.  Under  these  circum- 
stances the  only  remedy  was  to  take  up  some  position 
where  we  would  be  more  on  an  equality  with  the  enemy. 
Orders  were  therefore  reluctantly  given  to  withdraw 
through  the  brush  to  a  position  under  the  hill  from 
which  we  had  first  started,  and  then  push  for  the  timber 
through  which  we  had  passed  in  the  night.  This  move- 
ment was  successfully  accomplished,  such  of  our 
wounded  as  we  could  find  being  carried  with  us,  and  the 
few  Indians  who  occupied  the  timber  being  driven  out. 
Here  we  took  up  our  position,  and,  sheltering  ourselves 
behind  the  trees,  fallen  logs,  etc.,  replied  to  the  fire  of 
the  sharpshooters,  who  soon  gathered  around  us,  oc- 
cupying the  brush  below  and  the  timber  above.  For 
a  time  their  fire  was  very  close  and  deadly,  and  here 
Lieutenant  English  received  a  mortal  wound,  Captain 
Williams  was  struck  a  second  time,  and  a  large  number 
of  men  killed  and  wounded.  The  Indians  crawled  up 
as  closely  as  they  dared  to  come,  and  with  yells  of  en- 
couragement urged  each  other  on;  but  our  men  met 
them  with  a  bold  front,  and  our  fire,  as  we  afterward 
learned  by  the  blood  and  dead  Indians  found,  punished 
them  severely. 


356  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

"  Just  as  we  took  up  our  position  in  the  timber  two 
shots  from  our  howitzer  on  the  trail  above  us  were 
heard,  and  we  afterward  learned  that  the  gun  and  pack 
mule  with  ammunition  were  on  the  road  to  us  inter- 
cepted by  the  Indians. 

"  The  noncommissioned  officers  in  charge,  Sergeants 
Daly  and  Frederics  and  Corporal  Sales,  made  the  best 
resistance  they  could,  while  the  two  privates  cowardly 
fled  at  the  first  appearance  of  danger,  and  never  stopped 
until  they  had  put  a  hundred  miles  between  themselves 
and  the  battlefield,  spreading,  of  course,  as  such  cow- 
ards always  do,  when  they  reached  the  settlements, 
the  most  exaggerated  reports  of  the  dire  calamity  which 
had  overtaken  the  entire  command.  The  piece  was 
fired  twice,  and  as  the  Indians  closed  around  the  men 
used  their  rifles.  Corporal  Sales  was  killed,  the  two 
sergeants  wounded,  the  animals  shot  down,  and  private 
John  0.  Bennett,  the  driver,  entangled  in  their  fall. 
Cutting  himself  loose,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
brush  and  escaped  to  the  train,  which  the  two  sergeants, 
Blodgett,  the  guide,  and  William,  a  coloured  servant  of 
Lieutenant  Jacobs,  also  reached.  In  the  meantime 
our  fight  in  the  timber  continued,  with  more  or  less 
activity,  all  day.  But  every  hour  was  increasing  the 
strength  of  our  position,  when  a  new  danger  threatened 
us.  A  strong  wind  was  blowing  from  the  west,  and, 
taking  advantage  of  this,  the  Indians  set  fire  to  the 
grass,  intending,  doubtless,  to  follow  up  the  fire  and 
make  a  dash  upon  us  while  we  were  blinded  by  the 
dense  smoke.  But,  fortunately,  the  grass  was  too  green 
to  burn  rapidly,  and  before  the  fire  reached  any  of  the 
dead  timber  lying  about  us  it  went  out.  The  Indians 
remained  around  us,  firing  occasionally  nearly  all  night. 
They  had,  however,  broken  camp  immediately  after  we 
abandoned  it,  and  sent  off  their  women,  children,  and 
herds  in  a  southernly  direction.  During  the  night  I 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.     357 

sent  a  runner  to  the  train,  and  two  others  to  Deer 
Lodge,  via  French's  Gulch,  for  medical  assistance  and 
supplies,  fearing  our  train  had  been  captured.  This 
fear  was  increased  early  the  next  morning,  on  the  ar- 
rival of  a  courier  from  General  Howard,  who  said  he 
had  seen  nothing  of  it.  He  had  passed  it  in  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night  without  seeing  it.  Later  in  the  day 
we  communicated  with  the  train;  but  the  Indians,  in 
small  parties,  still  appearing  in  the  interval  which  sepa- 
rated us  from  it,  I  sent  Captain  Browning,  with  twenty- 
five  men,  to  bring  it  in,  and  it  reached  us  just  before 
sundown,  bringing  us  our  much-needed  blankets  and 
provisions,  not,  however,  until  we  had  partially  con- 
sumed the  flesh  of  Lieutenant  Woodruff's  horse, 
brought  wounded  to  our  position  and  conveniently 
killed  by  the  Indians  inside  our  lines.  The  Indians 
gave  us  a  parting  shower  of  bullets  about  eleven  o'clock 
that  night,  and  we  saw  no  more  of  them  afterward. 

"  In  closing  this  report,  I  desire  to  speak  in  the 
most  commendatory  terms  of  the  conduct  of  both  offi- 
cers and  men  (with  the  exception  of  the  two  cowards 
who  deserted  the  howitzer).  With  the  exception  of  Cap- 
tain Logan  and  Lieutenant  Bradley,  both  of  whom  were 
killed  very  early  in  the  action,  every  officer  came  under 
my  personal  observation  at  some  time  or  other  during 
the  fight,  and  where  all  were  so  active,  zealous,  and 
courageous,  not  only  in  themselves  fighting  and  in 
cheering  on  the  men,  but  in  prompt  obedience  to  every 
order,  I  find  it  out  of  the  question  to  make  any  attempt 
at  discrimination,  and  will  simply  mention  the  names 
of  those  who  were  present  in  the  battle.  They  were: 

"  Captains  C.  C.  Eawn,  Eichard  Comba,  George  L. 
Browning,  J.  M.  J.  Sanno,  Constant  Williams  (wounded 
twice),  and  William  Logan  (killed);  First-Lieutenants 
C.  A.  Coolidge  (wounded  three  times),  James  H.  Brad- 
ley (killed),  J.  W.  Jacobs,  regimental  quartermaster, 
24 


358  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Allan  H.  Jackson,  George  H.  Wright,  and  William  L. 
English  (mortally  wounded,  and  since  dead);  and  Sec- 
ond-Lieutenants C.  A.  Woodruff,  acting  adjutant 
(wounded  three  times),  J.  T.  Van  Orsdale,  E.  E.  Har- 
din,  and  Francis  Woodbridge. 

"A  complete  list  of  casualties  is  appended  to  this 
report,  showing  a  loss  of  the  aggregate  engaged  (one 
hundred  and 'ninety-one),  including  the  howitzer  party, 
of  twenty-nine  killed  and  forty  wounded.  Captain 
Comba,  who  had  charge  of  our  burial  party,  reports 
eighty-three  dead  Indians  found  on  the  field,  and  six 
more  dead  warriors  were  found  in  a  ravine  some  dis- 
tance from  the  battlefield  after  the  command  left 
there." 

Despite  the  rough  handling  General  Gibbon's  force 
had  given  him,  Chief  Joseph  and  the  remnant  of  his 
band  once  more  got  away  from  his  pursuers,  and,  after 
leaving  the  Big  Hole  battlefield,  proceeded  south  past 
the  town  of  Bannock,  murdering  settlers  and  stealing 
stock  as  they  went,  crossed  the  main  divide  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  east  of  Fort  Lambie,  then  moved 
across  the  divide  again  at  Henry's  Lake,  down  to  the 
Madison  Eiver,  up  that  stream  to  the  Geyser  Basin, 
through  that  to  the  Yellowstone  River.  This  stream 
they  crossed  below  Yellowstone  Lake,  and  moved  down 
the  right  bank  of  the  stream  to  the  East  Fork;  then, 
after  some  delay,  up  that  to  the  head  of  Clark's  Fork 
and  down  that  to  the  Yellowstone.  After  crossing  the 
Yellowstone  River  they  came  down  the  right  bank  as 
far  as  Baronette's  bridge,  which  they  burned,  and  then 
moved  slowly  up  the  East  Fork.  Striking  the  head  of 
Clark's  Fork  on  the  4th,  General  Howard  repaired  the 
bridge  and  crossed  it  on  the  5th,  continuing  the  pursuit. 

Pushing  steadily  and  determinedly  forward  on  Jo- 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.     359 

seph's  trail,  General  Howard  kept  sending  word  of  his 
whereabouts  to  the  various  department  and  district 
commanders  on  our  northern  frontier  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  in  which  direction,  plundering  as  he  went, 
Chief  Joseph  was  tending,  probably  with  the  hope  of 
eventually  reaching  the  British  possessions  and  joining 
Sitting  Bull  and  his  hostiles  on  the  other  side  of  the 
line. 

The  following  extract  from  a  field  despatch  of  Gen- 
eral Miles  (then  colonel  of  the  Fifth  Infantry)  shows 
with  both  brevity  and  accuracy  the  close  of  this  won- 
derful retreat  of  the  Nez  Perces  for  one  hundred  and 
ten  days,  and  at  the  end  of  a  pursuit  of  more  than  four- 
teen hundred  miles  from  its  starting  point,  over  and 
across  three  mountain  ranges,  with  a  record  of  eleven 
engagements  between  the  Indians  and  the  troops: 

"HEADQUARTERS  DISTRICT  OF  THE  YELLOWSTONE, 
"!N  THE  FIELD,  CAMP  NEAR  NORTH  END  OP 

"BEAR  PAW  MOUNTAINS,  MONTANA,  October  6, 1877. 
"  SIR:  I  have  the  honour  to  report  having  received 
on  the  evening  of  the  17th  ultimo  a  communication 
dated  the  12th,  from  General  Howard,  then  on  Clark's 
Fork,  stating  that  the  Nez  Perces  had  evaded  the  com- 
mands to  the  north  of  them  and  were  pushing  north- 
ward. I  at  once  organized  all  the  available  force  of 
my  command  for  a  movement  to  intercept  or  pursue 
them.  The  command  left  the  cantonment  on  the 
morning  of  the  18th;  the  different  orders  regarding 
escort  for  the  commission  had  already  put  en  route 
the  battalion  Second  Cavalry  and  one  company  (Hale's) 
Seventh  Cavalry;  these  were  taken  up  on  the  march. 

"  The  command  reached  the  Missouri  at  the  mouth 
of  Musselshell  on  the  23d  day  of  September,  but  learn- 
ing on  the  25th  that  the  Nez  Perces  had  crossed  at  Cow 


360  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

Island  on  the  23d,  destroying  the  depot  there,  and 
moved  northward,  I  immediately  crossed  the  Missouri. 
The  command  moved  on  the  26th  northward  from 
mouth  of  Musselshell,  and  on  the  27th,  leaving  my 
train  to  follow,  pushed  on  rapidly  by  the  northern  side 
of  the  Little  Rockies;  thence  across  to  the  northern  end 
of  the  Bear  Paw  Mountains,  which  point  I  reached  on 
the  evening  of  the  29th.  On  the  same  evening  the  trail 
was  discovered  by  my  scouts,  entering  the  range  to 
my  left. 

"  Starting  at  four  o'clock  on  the  30th,  and  moving 
around  the  northern  end  of  the  mountains,  the  trail 
was  struck  at  6  A.  M.,  near  the  head  of  Snake  River; 
the  village  shortly  afterward  was  discovered  on  Eagle 
Creek,  and  immediately  charged,  the  battalion  Seventh 
Cavalry  (Captain  Hale)  and  Fifth  Infantry  (Captain 
Snyder)  attacking  in  front,  the  battalion  Second  Cav- 
alry (Captain  Tyler)  by  circuit  attacked  in  rear,  and  se- 
cured the  stock  to  the  number  of  seven  hundred  horses, 
mules,  and  ponies.  The  fighting  was  very  severe  and  at 
close  quarters.  The  Indians  took  refuge  in  some  deep 
ravines,  and  their  firing  was  accurate  and  well  kept  up. 
Having  at  the  first  onset  surprised  and  shut  up  the 
greater  part  of  the  Indians  in  the  village  and  cut  off 
and  secured  the  greater  part  of  their  stock,  and  per- 
ceiving that  the  position  could  be  carried  by  storm  only 
with  very  great  loss,  I  determined  to  maintain  my  lines 
about  them,  keep  them  under  fire,  and  at  the  same  time 
give  them  an  opportunity  to  surrender  if  they  desired. 

"  The  positions  taken  up  on  the  30th  were,  with 
slight  modifications,  maintained  during  the  four  suc- 
ceeding days  and  nights.  Meantime  a  few  shells  from  a 
12-pounder  Napoleon  were  thrown  in  from  time  to 
time,  and  a  sharpshooting  fire  kept  up  whenever  it 
could  be  effective.  The  Indians  had  from  time  to  time 
displayed  a  white  flag,  but  when  communicated  with 


THE  NEZ  PERCYS'  WONDERFUL  FLIGHT.     361 

had  refused  to  surrender  their  arms;  but  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  5th  they  surrendered — Chief  Joseph  leading, 
surrendering  his  arms  and  ammunition,  followed  by  his 
band — and  their  village  is  now  in  our  possession. 

"  The  fighting,  as  reported,  was  sharp,  and  the 
losses  on  both  sides  considerable.  Inclosed  is  a  list  of 
casualties  on  the  part  of  the  troops.  The  Indians  ad- 
mit a  loss  of  Chief  Looking-Glass,  Too-hul-hul-Sote, 
Ollicut,  a  brother  of  Joseph,  and  two  others  of  their 
principal  men,  and  twenty-five  killed  and  forty-six 
wounded. 

"  The  endurance  and  courage  of  the  command,  as 
tested  by  the  forced  marches  and  hardly  contested 
fight  at  short  range,  are  worthy  of  highest  commenda- 
tion. A  severe  storm  of  snow  and  wind,  which  set  in 
on  the  1st  instant,  added  greatly  to  their  hardships, 
which  have  been  borne  without  murmuring.  The  op- 
portune arrival  of  the  train,  under  escort  commanded 
by  Captain  Brotherton,  enabled  me  to  protect  the 
wounded  from  the  worst  effects  of  the  storm. 

"  I  propose,  to-morrow,  to  march  hence  toward  the 
Missouri.  The  force  of  General  Howard  (including  the 
command  of  General  Sturgis),  following  ,the  trail  of 
the  Nez  Perces,  is  approaching  from  the  Missouri.  The 
general  arrived  on  the  evening  of  the  4th,  having  come 
forward  in  advance  with  a  small  escort. 

"Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  NELSON  A.  MILES, 

"  Colonel  Fifth  Infantry,  Brevet  Major  General 
"  United  States  Army,  Commanding. 

"ASSISTANT  ADJUTANT  GENERAL, 

"Department  of  Dakota,  St.  Paul,  Minn" 

Our  losses  in  this  action  were  two  officers  and  twen- 
ty-three enlisted  men  killed  and  four  officers  and  thirty- 
eight  men  wounded. 


362  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

General  Howard,  who  had  arrived  at  General  Miles's 
field  headquarters  on  the  4th  instant,  stood  by  his  side 
when  Chief  Joseph  surrendered.  He  had  steadily 
fought  and  followed  the  wily  and  able  Indian  chief  for 
nearly  three  months,  hanging  to  his  trail  like  a  sleuth- 
hound,  and  had  traced  him  over  three  Territories,  across 
three  mountain  ranges,  through  valleys  and  rivers  and 
canons  and  mountain  streams  and  deep  forests,  and  as 
he  stood  by  the  side  of  the  younger  man,  grim  and 
worn  and  gray,  with  his  armless  sleeve  pinned  to  the 
breast  of  his  coat,  it  is  little  wonder  that  Chief  Joseph 
thought  him  his  Nemesis,  and  addressed  himself  to  him 
instead  of  his  captor,  General  Miles: 

"  Tell  General  Howard  I  know  his  heart.  What  he 
told  me  before  I  have  in  my  heart.  I  am  tired  of  fight- 
ing. Our  chiefs  are  killed.  Looking-Glass  is  dead. 
Too-hul-hul-Sote  is  dead.  The  old  men  are  all  dead. 
It  is  the  young  men  who  say  yes  or  no.  He  who  led 
on  the  young  men  is  dead.  It  is  cold  and  we  have  no 
blankets.  The  little  children  are  freezing  to  death. 
My  people,  some  of  them,  have  run  away  to  the  hills, 
and  have  no  blankets,  no  food;  no  one  knows  where 
they  are — perhaps  freezing  to  death.  I  want  to  have 
time  to  look  for  my  children  and  see  how  many  of  them 
I  can  find.  Maybe  I  shall  find  them  among  the  dead. 
Hear  me,  my  chiefs.  I  am  tired;  my  heart  is  sick  and 
sad.  From  where  the  sun  now  stands  I  will  fight  no 
more  forever." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    ARMY    OFFICER,    THE    PEOPLE,    AND    THE    SOLDIER. 

WHY  really  able  and  thoughtful  men  in  political 
life  will  continue  to  allude  to  the  regular  army  as 
inimical  to  the  best  interests  of,  and  dangerous  to,  the 
perpetuity  of  the  republic  is,  to  those  who  know  it 
best,  and  have  served  in  it,  simply  incomprehensible. 
Its  existence  depends  upon  the  life  of  the  nation,  and 
ceases  with  it.  It  was  created  for  its  defence  and  the 
enforcement  of  its  laws,  and  being  the  absolute  crea- 
ture of  law,  the  power  that  made  it  can  dissolve  and 
annihilate  it  at  will.  A  concurrent  resolution  of  Con- 
gress passed  by  a  two-thirds  vote,  or  passed  by  a  bare 
majority  of  both  houses  and  approved  by  the  Presi- 
dent, would  legally  and  within  constitutional  limits  in- 
stantly effect  its  dissolution;  and  from  the  moment  of 
the  passage  and  approval  of  said  resolution  the  army 
would  cease  to  exist.  Nor  could  any  officer  or  enlisted 
man  establish  good  and  lawful  claim  against  the  General 
Government  for  his  services  beyond  the  time  that  he  re- 
ceived due  legal  notice  of  the  passage  of  such  a  resolu- 
tion. So  long,  then,  as  the  United  States  Congress 
correctly  represents  the  concentrated  expression  of  the 
will  of  the  people,  there  need  not  be  any  fear  of  the 
regular  army  of  the  United  States.  But  outside  of  and 

363 


364  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

beyond  the  power  of  Congress  the  army  is  intensely 
loyal  and  absolutely  devoted  to  the  nation.  In  no  gen- 
eral sense  are  the  officers  or  men  politicians.  The  fact 
that  unless  they  are  at  their  homes  they  can  not  cast 
a  vote  takes  them  completely  out  of  political  affilia- 
tions. As  a  general  thing,  they  have  an  intelligent  idea 
of  the  drift  of  national  affairs,  and  have  their  personal 
preferences  for  one  of  the  two  prominent  political 
parties  of  the  day,  and  occasionally  will  discuss  certain 
political  movements;  but  the  discussion  is  rarely  acri- 
monious, for  the  disputants  can  usually  see  the  good 
points  of  both  parties,  and  are  willing  to  admit  them. 
Then,  again,  if  some  impetuous  youngster  in  his  early 
years  of  service  is  inclined  to  go  too  far  in  his  ex- 
pressions one  way  or  another  some  one  of  the  older 
officers,  after  the  hot  words  have  cooled,  will  good- 
humouredly  open  the  Army  Regulations  at  the  Articles 
of  War,  and  with  a  smile  point  to 

"AKTICLE  XIX.  Any  officer  who  uses  contemptu- 
ous or  disrespectful  words  against  the  President,  the 
Vice-President,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  or 
the  Chief  Magistrate  or  Legislature  of  any  of  the 
United  States  in  which  he  may  be  quartered  shall  be 
dismissed  the  service  or  otherwise  punished  as  a  court- 
martial  may  direct.  Any  soldier  who  so  offends  shall 
be  punished  as  a  court-martial  may  direct," 

with  the  result  that  the  next  time  the  youthful 
politician  enters  into  a  political  discussion,  no  mat- 
ter how  strongly  or  earnestly  he  may  argue,  he  is 
safe  to  be  not  at  all  vituperative.  It  is  a  good  arti- 
cle of  war,  and  is  apt  to  make  one  thoughtful  and 
broaden  one's  ideas  somewhat  as  to  men  and  political 
parties. 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  365 

At  the  same  time  that  the  army  recognises  the  fact 
that  it  exists  at  the  pleasure  of  Congress,  it  also  knows 
that  Congress  has  no  authority  to  compel  it  to  do  an 
illegal  act.  The  first  paragraph  of  the  first  article  in 
Army  Eegulations  declares  that  "  all  persons  in  the 
military  service  are  required  'to  obey  strictly  and  to 
execute  promptly  the  lawful  orders  of  their  superiors." 
Therefore,  beyond  a  lawful  order  the  army  can  not  be 
induced  to  go.* 

Up  to  this  time  I  have  not  said  anything  as  to  staff 
organization  and  the  administrative  bureaus  of  the 
War  Department  at  the  head  of  the  army,  from  the  fact 
that  they  scarcely  come  within  the  scope  of  this  book, 
but  I  think  it  best  to  touch  somewhat  upon  them  for 
the  .information  of  my  civilian  readers.  Constitution- 
ally, as  all  know,  the  President  is  the  commander  in 
chief  of  the  army.  The  Secretary  of  War  has  control 
of  the  appropriations  made  by  Congress  for  the  pay  and 
support  of  the  army,  which  are  expended  by  the  vari- 
ous bureaus  of  the  War  Department  subject  to  his 
approval.  He  also  has  charge  of  its  recruitment,  and, 
as  directly  representing  the  President,  looks  after  and 
supervises  the  appointment  of  officers  of  the  army 
other  than  the  annual  class  of  graduates  of  the  Mili- 
tary Academy,  and  exercises  a  close  supervision  in  all 
that  pertains  to  estimates  for  its  expenses  and  its  gen- 

*  Beyond  briefly  chronicling  some  of  the  splendid  work  of 
the  artillery  acting  as  infantry  during  the  Modoc  war  on  the 
Pacific  slope  in  1873,  the  writer  has  not  alluded  to  that  branch  of 
the  service,  from  the  fact  that  until  recently,  from  1867  until 
1898,  nearly  all  its  duties  kept  it  within  the  seacoast  fortifications. 
No  military  man  of  his  acquaintance  has  a  higher  opinion  of,  or 
more  thorough  respect  for  the  corps,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  few, 
if  any  of  them,  know  less  about  it. 


366  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

eral  welfare  in  every  direction  outside  of  strictly  mili- 
tary matters. 

The  commanding  general  of  the  army  has  the  rank 
of  lieutenant  general.  Next  in  rank  come  two  major 
generals  and  six  brigadier  generals  of  the  line,  who 
are  the  officers  in  immediate  command  of  the  field 
forces  of  the  army.  The  departments  or  administrative 
bureaus  of  the  War  Department  are  ten  in  number. 
They  are: 

The  adjutant  general's  department,  which  issues 
all  orders  affecting  the  army  as  a  whole,  by  direction 
of  the  President  through  the  Secretary  of  War,  or 
by  the  commanding  general  of  the  army;  has  con- 
trol of  all  records,  the  recruitment  or  enlargement  of 
the  army  (through  the  Secretary  of  War);  issues  com- 
missions to  officers,  accepts  resignations,  grants  dis- 
charges, and  has  a  general  supervision  of  all  that  per- 
tains to  the  army,  the  administrative  bureaus  of  the 
War  Department,  and  the  State  National  Guard  or 
Militia. 

The  inspector  general's  department,  which  inspects 
the  army,  all  the  military  bureaus  of  the  War  Depart- 
ment, all  military  depots,  arsenals,  posts,  forts,  general 
hospitals,  army  transportation,  all  money  accounts,  and 
everything  pertaining  to  and  belonging  to  the  army. 

The  judge-advocate  general's  department,  which 
is  the  bureau  of  military  justice,  supervises  the  records 
and  findings  of  all  general  courts-martial,  has  charge  of 
all  court-martial  records,  and  control  of  all  papers  rela- 
tive to  land  titles  of  forts,  posts,  reservations,  etc,  held 
under  authority  of  the  War  Department. 

The  quartermaster's  department,  which  has  control 
of  all  transportation  by  land  or  sea  in  the  service  of 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  367 

the  army,  furnishes  its  clothing,  camp  and  garrison 
equipage,  builds  its  barracks,  quarters,  storehouses,  and 
other  buildings,  constructs  and  repairs  its  military 
roads,  docks,  and  wharves,  and  furnishes  all  public  ani- 
mals needed  by  the  army  and  all  forage  consumed  by 
them. 

The  subsistence  department,  which  has  charge  of 
all  purchases  for  the  subsistence  of  the  army  and  the 
proper  distribution  of  its  rations. 

The  pay  department,  which  has  charge  of  the  funds 
appropriated  for  the  pay  of  the  army  and  pays  the  offi- 
cers and  troops  of  the  army  and  the  civilian  employees 
of  the  War  Department. 

The  medical  department,  which  is  charged  with  the 
care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  of  the  army,  has  control 
of  all  army  hospitals  and  medical  supplies  and  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  troops 
and  the  health  of  the  army. 

The  corps  of  engineers,  which  has  charge  of  the  con- 
struction of  all  the  forts  and  military  defences  of  the 
country,  as  well  as  the  execution  of  all  river  and  harbour 
improvements  authorized  and  appropriated  for  by  law, 
together  with  the  construction  of  military  roads, 
bridges,  etc.,  and  also  makes  up  the  estimates  for  coast 
and  harbour  defences  and  for  the  improvements  of  all 
rivers  and  harbours  throughout  the  country. 

The  ordnance  department,  which  is  charged  with 
the  manufacture  or  purchase  of  small  arms,  light  ar- 
tillery, heavy  ordnance,  and  ammunition,  and  their  dis- 
tribution at  proper  points.  It  also  has  charge  of  all 
arsenals  and  depots  for  their  manufacture  and  safe 
keeping. 

The  signal  corps,  which  is  charged  with  instruction 


368  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

in  military  signalling,  and  is  in  control  of  all  field 
telegraphy,  military  telegraph  lines  and  cables,  field 
telephone  lines,  and  everything  pertaining  to  the  collec- 
tion and  dissemination  of  needed  information  on  the 
field  of  battle. 

These  ten  departments  constitute  what  is  known  as 
the  staff  corps  in  our  army.  The  officer  at  the  head  of 
the  adjutant  general's  department  has  the  rank  of 
major  general.  The  official  heads  of  the  other  nine 
departments  have  the  rank  of  brigadier  general.  That 
our  staff  corps  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  organized  on 
the  basis  of  a  European  staff  corps  is  a  fact;  still,  it  is 
the  best  we  have,  and  very  much  better  than  that  of 
most  European  nations,  despite  the  flood  of  adverse 
criticism  that  poured  in  upon  it  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
recent  Spanish  war. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  was  said  against  it,  the 
War  Department  and  its  various  bureaus  rose  splendidly 
to  the  occasion,  and  now  that  the  nation  has  had  time 
to  take  a  sober  second  thought  and  realizes  what  a  tre- 
mendous task  it  had  to  accomplish  in  enrolling,  equip- 
ping, arming,  encamping,  and  feeding  a  volunteer  army 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  within  less  than 
ninety  days,  and  all  of  which  it  did  accomplish,  when 
its  magazine  of  supplies  contained  a  reserve  for  an  army 
of  twenty-five  thousand  men  only,  our  people  must  at 
least  be  just  enough  to  admit  it  was  a  colossal  work, 
well  and  quickly  done  in  spite  of  a  few  errors  and  draw- 
backs, arising  principally  from  the  ignorance  of  vol- 
unteer officers  and  the  cupidity  of  a  few  dishonest  Gov- 
ernment contractors.  As  for  the  officers  of  the  various 
departments,  from  the  adjutant  general  down  through 
all  the  various  bureaus,  including  also  every  clerk  of 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  369 

the  War  Department,  the  writer,  from  personal  obser- 
vation, can  bear  testimony  to  their  constant  and  in- 
cessant work  day  and  night  to  meet  the  crisis  that  sud- 
denly and  unexpectedly  confronted  them,  and  although 
he  believes  in  the  reorganization  of  our  staff  corps,  and 
can,  he  thinks,  see  where  improvements  can  be  intro- 
duced, nevertheless  there  is  much  that  is  good  in 
our  system,  and  certain  portions  of  it  are  much  more 
capable  of  quick  expansion  in  war  times  than  are  those 
of  some  European  nations  which  have  been  held  up 
and  referred  to  as  models  for  us  to  imitate.  A  serv- 
ice of  many  years  in  the  United  States  army,  and  an 
unusual  opportunity  to  compare  it  with  the  troops  of 
all  the  European  armies  twenty-five  years  ago,  and 
again  four  years  since,  has  convinced  the  writer  that 
in  all  the  essentials  of  a  fighting  force  it  has  not  its 
equal,  man  for  man,  in  any  army  in  the  world.  Of 
course,  he  can  not  say  as  to  the  discipline,  drill,  and  effi- 
ciency on  the  firing  line  of  our  regulars  of  to-day,  con- 
sidering the  immense  number  of  recruits  brought  in 
two  years  ago  by  the  new  three-battalion  formation  in 
the  infantry  and  the  expansion  of  each  cavalry  troop 
to  its  maximum,  and  he  recognises  how  impossible  it 
has  been  during  an  active  campaign  to  work  up  these 
new  men  to  the  old  standard;  but  the  material  is  all 
there,  and  able  and  capable  officers  to  develop  it,  and 
all  that  is  needed  is  time.  The  ten  regiments  of  cav- 
alry and  the  twenty-five  regiments  of  infantry  that 
represented  our  cavalry  and  infantry  prior  to  the  Span- 
ish war  were,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  unquestion- 
ably the  best  troops  in  the  world,  and  when  it  is  taken 
into  consideration  that  the  officers  were  West  Point 
men  and  brilliantly  educated  soldiers,  or  else  men  who 


370  THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 

had  made  distinguished  military  reputations,  first  in 
our  civil  war  and  afterward  on  the  great  plains  of  the 
West,  and  the  enlisted  men  had  been  carefully  selected 
for  their  intelligence  and  fine  physique,  and  all  or 
nearly  all  of  them  were  qualified  marksmen,  perfectly 
drilled,  and  in  a  fine  state  of  discipline,  while  many  of 
them  had  the  experience  that  years  of  frontier  cam- 
paigning against  the  wily  North  American  savage 
gives,  it  would  have  been  a  strange  thing  if  they  had 
not  developed  into  the  best  fighting  men  in  the 
world. 

As  far  as  the  personality  of  the  officers  and  en- 
listed men  is  concerned,  the  standard  is  unusually 
high.  From  the  moment  that  a  cadet  enters  the  Mili- 
tary Academy  or  an  enlisted  man  enters  his  regi- 
ment he  is  taught  two  things  by  both  precept  and 
example,  and  they  are  the  honour  of  the  service  and 
the  necessity  of  always  and  under  all  circumstances 
doing  his  duty.  Service  and  duty  in  time  become 
the  two  watchwords  of  the  soldier,  and  in  the  end 
build  up  and  strengthen  the  character  of  many  an 
ordinary  man  into  something  that  on  the  field  of  battle 
has  enabled  him  to  face  death  in  an  Indian  combat,  and 
dauntlessly  and  desperately  hold  his  own  against  fear- 
ful odds — something  at  times  so  near  akin  to  heroism 
that  his  companions  in  arms  have  failed  to  draw  the 
line,  and,  unwritten  and  unsung,  he  has  for  many  a  day 
been  the  unlaurelled  hero  of  the  barracks  of  the  en- 
listed men  of  his  regiment.  As  for  the  officer,  those 
same  two  words — service  and  duty — are  with  him  always 
and  to  the  end.  They  help  him  out  on  many  a  tire- 
some day,  and  nerve  him  to  gallant  deeds  in  many  an 
Indian  campaign;  and,  better  than  that,  they  keep  him 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  371 

straight  in  repeated  scenes  of  frontier  riot  and  dissipa- 
tion. 

The  young  officer  who  goes  to  the  frontier  has 
scores  of  weary  years  to  face  and  many  a  hardship  to 
endure  before  he  can  hope  to  get  his  company  or  troop. 
It  is  weary  waiting,  but  very  excellent  military  experi- 
ence, and  always  develops  a  good  youngster  into  a 
manly,  thoughtful  man.  He  has  days  and  weeks  of 
comparative  inactivity,  and  then  again  months  of  in- 
cessant Indian  campaigning.  As  the  years  go  by  and 
he  serves  at  different  posts  of  his  regiment  he  is  de- 
tailed as  an  acting  commissary  at  one,  an  acting  quar- 
termaster at  another,  and  as  he  gains  age  and  experi- 
ence he  is  made  an  acting  post  adjutant  at  another. 
In  time  it  may  be  that  he  is  made  regimental  adju- 
tant, and  if  so  he  is  particularly  fortunate,  for  it  shows 
capacity,  and  the  experience  at  regimental  headquar- 
ters is  worth  much  to  him  in  later  years.  If  he 
marries,  and  marries  well  and  happily,  as  most  offi- 
cers do,  he  gradually  drops  out  of  bachelor  gaieties 
and  devotes  himself  to  home  life.  In  time,  as  he 
becomes  a  family  man,  he  has  to  carefully  gauge 
his  expenditures  and  begin  to  save  for  the  educa- 
tion of  his  children.  The  regimental  moves  now  be- 
come somewhat  matters  of  anxiety  to  him,  as  they  are 
expensive,  but,  like  all  the  rest,  he  usually  succeeds  in 
keeping  his  head  financially  above  water.  If  fond  of 
travel  he  manages  by  three  years'  consecutive  service 
without  leave  to  accumulate  a  four  months'  leave  on  full 
pay.  This  he  supplements  by  two  months  on  half  pay, 
and  applies  for  and  gets  a  six  months'  leave  with  per- 
mission to  go  abroad. 

In  the  meanwhile  he  has  brushed  up  his  French  and 


372  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

Spanish,  and  picked  up  enough  German  to  enable  him- 
self and  wife  to  pass  six  happy  and  delightful  months 
in  Europe.  Then  they  return  and  take  up  post  life 
again,  but,  oh,  so  much  broadened  by  what  they  have 
seen!  and  just  that  much  happier,  because  the  horizon 
is  wider.  In  the  course  of  time  he  becomes  rather  more 
of  a  student,  and  recognises  the  fact  that  he  is  growing 
older  and  a  bit  more  staid.  The  children  have  to  be 
sent  back  East  to  the  grandparents  to  school,  and  an 
Indian  campaign  worries  the  dear  wife  more  than  it 
used  to  do.  In  time  he  gets  his  troop  or  company,  and 
at  last  becomes  a  captain  in  the  line. 

It  means  much,  too,  this  promotion  to  the  head  of 
a  company  or  troop.  It  means  better  quarters,  more 
pay,  larger  responsibilities.  He  can  now  work  out  some 
of  his  pet  theories  as  to  company  management,  and 
in  time  the  new  rank  may  mean  the  recruiting  detail 
of  two  years  in  civilization.  That  will  mean  all  the 
children  at  home  and  at  a  good  school,  and  all  the 
family  together  onqe  more.  His  days  no  longer  hang 
heavy  on  his  hands,  for  an  ambitious  captain  has  plenty 
to  do  in  keeping  everything  up  to  a  high  standard  in 
his  company.  As  time  slowly  wings  its  flight  he  takes 
his  thirty  days'  leave  each  year  to  get  back  to  his  old 
home,  especially  if  his  parents  still  live.  He  realizes, 
too,  that  he  is  almost  forgotten  by  his  old  comrades 
unless  he  does  so.  The  movements  of  his  regiment  carry 
him  North  or  South  or  out  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  he 
learns  to  know  the  whole  country  well,  and  gradually 
loses  touch  of  localities.  State  lines  soon  mean  little 
or  nothing  to  him  save  as  political  demarcations.  He 
tries  to  get  to  Washington  occasionally,  and  when  he 
does  so  sits  for  a  few  hours  in  the  galleries  of  both 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  373 

houses,  and  he  is  man  enough  of  the  world  at  the  first 
glance  over  either  house  to  see  that,  despite  all  news- 
paper squibs  and  cheap  criticism  to  the  contrary,  that 
the  average  of  intelligence  and  trained  ability  is  high 
in  both  houses,  and  far  above  the  ordinary.  Some  day 
precisely  at  noon  he  goes  to  the  Supreme  Court  room  to 
see  the  justices  enter,  and  sits  an  hour  or  two  watching 
the  proceedings,  and  then  quietly  withdraws  with  an 
intense  respect  for  what  he  regards  as  the  most  august 
body  in  the  world.  He  is  creeping  up  toward  the  head 
of  the  list  of  captains  now.  Every  retirement  and  pro- 
motion and  death  takes  him  nearer  the  head  of  the  list. 
It  looked  a  long  way  ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  but  now 
he  begins  to  realize  that  one  year,  or  at  most  two  years, 
may  make  him  a  field  officer. 

At  length,  after  twenty-five  years'  service  as  a  sub- 
altern and  captain  in  the  line,  he  has  reached  his  pro- 
motion, and  receives  his  appointment  as  a  major  in  one 
of  the  regiments  of  the  army. 

The  years  pass  quickly.  He  is  a  post  commander  at 
last.  His  hair  and  mustache  are  heavily  tinged  with 
gray.  Now  and  then  he  finds  himself  at  headquarters 
in  command  of  his  regiment  in  the  absence  of  the 
colonel  and  lieutenant  colonel.  His  opinion  is  occasion- 
ally asked  by  the  War  Department,  even,  as  to  cer- 
tain changes  in  tactics,  discipline,  and  accoutrements, 
and  what  he  says  has  weight  with  the  whole  regiment. 
He  is  one  of  the  oldsters  now.  He  goes  home  from 
regimental  drill  one  day,  to  be  met  on  the  porch  of 
his  quarters  by  his  wife,  whose  cheeks  are  flushed  and 
whose  eyes  are  fairly  ablaze  with  delight.  "  What  is 
it,  little  woman?"  "0  Harry  what  do  you  think 
the  colonel's  wife  heard  the  commanding  general  say 

25 


374  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

when  she  dined  at  his  house  in  Washington? "  "  I 
haven't  an  idea.  What?  "  "  He  said  you  were  one  of 
the  very  best  duty  officers  in  the  army."  "  Possibly 
he  may  not  be  a  good  judge."  "Harry!  How  dare 
you! "  But  he  puts  his  arm  around  her  and  kisses  her 
as  they  enter  the  house,  and  go  in  to  luncheon  with 
the  children,  two  very  happy  people.  After  luncheon 
he  comes  out  on  his  porch  for  his  noonday  smoke,  and 
as  he  lights  his  brierwood  pipe  let  us  look  at  the  man 
as  he  stands  before  us,  for  you  may  rest  assured  that, 
with  the  training  he  has  received  and  the  service  he 
has  rendered,  he  will  average  well.  He  is  generally 
from  forty-five  to  fifty-two  years  of  age.  Stalwart  of 
build,  splendidly  erect,  neat  in  person,  temperate  in 
habits,  and  low  of  voice  save  when  upon  drill.  Apt  to 
be  sparing  of  speech,  and  as  a  general  thing  not  given 
to  discussion  or  argument.  Tenacious  of  his  own  opin- 
ion, but  always  willing  to  listen  to  those  who  disagree 
with  him,  and  with  a  thorough  respect  for  all  legally 
constituted  authority,  as  well  as  a  decent  respect  for 
his  own  position  and  himself.  Considerate  of  his 
juniors,  and  unquestioningly  obedient  to  his  superiors 
in  rank.  Thoughtful  over  orders,  but  always  promptly 
obedient  to  their  tenor. 

In  times  like  these  that  are  upon  us,  mayhap  he 
might  be  a  little  anxious  as  he  sees  the  General  Gov- 
ernment debate  and  outline  a  policy  somewhat  dif- 
fering in  consonance  with  its  heretofore  trend  of  de- 
velopment, but  at  the  same  time  he  would  be  confi- 
dent in  the  ultimate  wisdom  of  Congress  and  satisfied 
to  accept  its  decision  with  unswerving  and  unquestion- 
ing loyalty,  and  ever  with  a  belief  in  the  legal  equity 
of  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  375 

States,  second  only  to  his  belief  in  the  Bible.  His  love 
for  his  country  is  almost  beyond  comprehension,  and 
his  belief  in  the  National  Government  as  the  best  that 
was  ever  devised  for  humanity  is  absolute  and  not  to 
be  debated,  while  his  devotion  to  the  flag  has  grown 
to  be  a  part  of  his  being.  He  is  generally  an 
avowed  nationalist,  with  only  a  Constitutional  tolera- 
tion of  a  State  line  and  the  very  highest  opinion  of 
the  New  England  township  organization.  When  his 
country  shall  need  him  on  the  tented  field  it  will  find 
in  him  all  that  a  soldier  should  be — brave,  courteous, 
patient,  willing,  tolerant,  uncomplaining,  splendidly 
drilled  and  disciplined,  holding  himself  up  to  the  very 
highest  ideal  of  a  soldier,  and  understanding  his  work 
in  every  detail  and  shirking  nothing;  patient  in  time 
of  trouble,  always  accepting  with  grim  resignation  that 
which  he  can  not  mend,  but  ever  fertile  in  resource, 
and  bending  every  energy,  mental  and  physical,  to  the 
parting  point  of  tension,  to  right  any  wrong  or  blunder 
that  it  is  legally  within  his  scope  to  control. 

It  is  a  clear  sunny  morning  in  April  as  an  orderly 
taps  on  the  door  of  his  quarters,  and  as  the  major,  who 
has  heard  his  footsteps,  opens  it  he  says:  "  The  col- 
onel's compliments,  sir,  and  he  wishes  to  see  the  major 
at  headquarters." 

"  My  compliments  to  the  colonel,  and  I  will  be  with 
him  in  a  moment." 

He  steps  back  into  the  hall,  buckles  on  his  sword, 
places  his  cap  on  his  head,  and  crosses  the  parade  at 
a  rapid  step,  and  as  he  does  so  sees  that  from  all 
parts  of  the  garrison  officers  are  hurrying  toward  the 
adjutant's  office.  On  reaching  the  room  he  notices 
that  the  adjutant  stands  close  to  the  door  with  a  check 


376  THB  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

list  in  his  hand;  and  the  colonel  is  standing  near  his 
desk  with  a  telegram  pasted  at  the  head  of  a  sheet 
of  foolscap,  and  from  where  he  stands  he  can  see  from 
the  serried  lines  and  squares  on  the  writing  paper  that 
it  is  evidently  a  secret  code  despatch  which  has  just 
been  deciphered.  As  the  officers  enter  they  salute  and 
remain  standing.  The  colonel  courteously  but  me- 
chanically returns  the  salute  without  looking  up  as 
he  intently  studies  the  paper.  As  the  last  officer  comes 
hurriedly  in  the  adjutant  checks  his  arrival,  steps  to- 
ward the  colonel,  salutes,  and  reports,  "  The  officers 
are  all  here,  sir."  Looking  up  from  his  despatch,  which 
is  of  unusual  length,  and  facing  his  officers,  the  colonel 
says: 

"  Gentlemen,  to-day,  at  twelve  o'clock,  the  Presi- 
dent will  recommend  and  Congress  declare  war  against 
Spain.  I  am  advised  that  I  am  to  be  appointed  a 
major  general  of  volunteers,  and  our  lieutenant  colonel 
a  brigadier.  Consequently,  the  regiment  will  take  the 
field  under  command  of  its  major."  Then,  stepping 
forward,  he  reaches  out  his  hand  heartily,  grasps  that  of 
the  major,  and  says,  "  Major,  I  congratulate  you  on 
your  regiment";  and,  turning  to  the  assembled  line 
officers,  he  continues:  "  Gentlemen,  I  congratulate  you 
on  your  regimental  commander.  I  sincerely  hope  that 
I  may  have  the  honour  of  having  you  assigned  to  my 
division." 

When  next  we  see  him  it  is  in  the  supreme  hour  of 
battle,  as  he  placidly  accepts  his  responsibility  without 
a  tremor,  justly  confident  in  himself  and  his  knowl- 
edge of  his  profession,  and  with  the  same  unquestioning 
faith  in  the  drill  discipline  and  bravery  of  his  troops 
that  they  have  in  him  he  leads  his  regiment  gallantly 


THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  SOLDIER.  377 

and  confidently.  He  knows  that  they  will  not  fail  him, 
and  they  know  that  he  will  not  fail  them.  Quick  to 
see  and  prompt  to  act,  he  grasps  the  situation  boldly, 
and  presses  steadily  forward.  Personally  he  has  no 
fear.  He  has  thought  this  situation  over  and  out  years 
before,  and  that  this  might  be  his  duty  has  come  to 
him  many  a  time  and  oft  during  his  thirty  years  of 
frontier  service.  At  night  on  the  starlit  stretches  of 
the  Western  plains,  among  the  towering  crags  of  the 
Eocky  Mountains,  on  the  banks  of  the  mighty  streams 
of  the  Missouri,  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Columbia; 
looking  out  across  the  sunlit  valley  from  the  vine- 
covered  porch  of  his  quarters  in  Arizona,  or  watching 
the  blue  waves  of  the  Pacific  curl  and  break  on  the 
shores  of  the  Golden  Gate  from  the  door  of  his  cottage 
at  the  presidio  on  San  Francisco  Bay — this,  the  crucial 
hour  of  his  life,  has  been  ever  before  him.  Perhaps  for 
an  instant  the  thought  of  the  dependent  wife  and  chil- 
dren whom  he  may  never  see  again  wrings  his  heart 
and  dims  his  eyes,  but  no  one  sees  him  falter.  For 
long  years  he  has  never  failed  in  his  devotion  to  duty, 
and  held  himself  strictly  amenable  to  rules  of  discipline, 
and  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  will  fail  him  now. 
He  has  the  centre,  and  steadily  the  line  presses  onward. 
His  flashing  blade  and  ringing  cry  of  "Forward!  men, 
forward!  "  accentuating  the  crack  of  rifles  and  shriek  of 
bursting  shell  as  the  line  moves  slowly,  wearily,  bloodily 
upward.  But  what  is  this?  The  line  hesitates!  It 
staggers!  It  halts!  In  front  of  the  centre  the  crest 
of  the  hill  is  crowned  with  rifle  pits,  bristling  with 
men.  Can  the  line  advance?  Can  it  carry  the  crest? 
A  quick  glance  backward,  and  he  sees  his  reserves 
within  supporting  distance.  Like  an  inspiration  comes 


3T8  THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 

the  thought:  If  the  line  can  reach  the  crest  the  reserve 
can  carry  it.  But  will  the  line  advance?  A  flash  of 
thought  answers,  "  Yes,  if  I  lead  it! "  and  then  comes 
the  shuddering,  sickening  truth:  It  will  be  almost 
annihilation  for  the  line,  and  certain  death  to  the 
leader!  Watch  him  now.  For  one  instant  he  hesitates, 
stands  like  one  half  bewildered,  and  seems  to  quiver 
in  every  muscle  of  his  body;  then,  suddenly  pulling 
himself  together,  he  turns  and  faces  his  line.  The  eye 
of  every  soldier  on  the  line  rests  on  him,  but  he  appears 
to  be  looking  beyond  them.  What  is  it  he  seems  to 
see?  What  is  it  that  has  come  to  him?  In  memory's 
eye  he  is  again  reading  his  first  commission.  How  the 
words  stand  out  now !  "  Reposing  special  trust  and 
confidence  in  your  patriotism,  valour,  fidelity,  and 
ability  I  have  nominated,  and  by  and  with  the  advice 
of  the  Senate  do  appoint  you."  Stay!  Has  he  justi- 
fied that  special  trust  and  confidence?  He  removes  his 
cap,  bends  his  head  for  an  instant  in  silent,  heart-wrung 
prayer  for  his  family  and  for  mercy  on  his  soul,  re- 
places it,  gives  one  last  sweeping  glance  around  the 
horizon,  raises  his  sword,  turns  his  face  to  the  enemy, 
and  in  a  voice  that  rings  like  a  trumpet  call  shouts: 
"Forward!  Forward  the  whole  line!  Forward,  men, 
forward!"  And  then,  amid  a  storm  of  cheers  and  a 
hail  of  shot  and  shell,  he  leads  the  glorious  line  un- 
falteringly onward  and  upward  to  his  death. 


INDEX. 


Alden,  Captain,  of  the  Shubrick,  at 
San  Juan  Island,  71. 

Alderdice,  Mrs.,  murdered  by  In- 
dians, 310. 

Alexander,  Colonel,  with  the  Utah 
expedition,  76,  77. 

Almy,  Lieutenant  Jacob,  275. 

American  Horse,  surrender  of,  339 ; 
death  of,  340. 

Apaches,  the,  246;  campaign  of 
General  Crooke  against,  261-285 ; 
history  of,  263-265;  character  of, 
265-269 ;  depredations  of,  272, 273 ; 
surrender  and  settlement  of,  285. 

Apache  wars,  origin  of,  266. 

Arapahoes,  150,  172,  187,  203,  205, 
207,  246,  255. 

Arizona,  discovery  of,  261-263. 

Armies,  standing,  resolutions  of  the 
Continental  Congress  concerning, 
17, 18. 

Army  life,  early,  on  the  frontier, 
38-40. 

Army,  the  regular,  an  object  of 
suspicion,  6 ;  the  Continental  dis- 
banded, 16-19 ;  strength  of,  Oc- 
tober 2,  1788,  20;  the  United 
States,  alternate  increase  and  re- 
duction of,  15,  30;  appointment 
of  officers,  35-37 ;  beginning  of, 
80 :  the  creature  of  Congress,  363 ; 
is  loyal  and  devoted  to  the  na- 


tion, 364 ;  can  not  be  forced  to  do 
an  illegal  act,  365 ;  organization  of, 
365;  the  Secretary  of  War,  365; 
the  commanding  general  (rank- 
ing as  lieutenant  general),  366; 
brigadier  general,  366;  qualities 
of  the  army  as  a  fighting  force, 
369, 370 ;  personality  of  its  officers 
and  men,  370. 

Artillery,  the,  365  (note). 

Ashburton,  Lord,  72. 

Augur,  General,  201. 

Baker,  Major  E.  L.,  258,  260. 

Bancroft,  Captain,  wounded,  349. 

Bancroft,  Hubert  Howe,  261,  262. 

Bankhead,  Colonel,  at  Fort  Wal- 
lace, 228,  229;  Colonel  Forsyth's 
despatch  to,  229. 

Bannister,  Mr.,  letter  of  Washing- 
ton to,  12, 13. 

Barncho,  306,  307. 

Bartlett,  Mr.,  226. 

Beaver  Creek,  203. 

Beecher,  Lieutenant  F.  H.,  206  et 
seq. ;  death  of,  226. 

Bell,  Major,  brings  ammunition,  246. 

Bennett,  John  O.,  356. 

Bent,  George,  252. 

Benteen,  Captain,  323  et  seq. 

Benteen,  Colonel,  protects  settlers 
on  the  Solomon,  207. 

379 


380 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 


Bernard,  Captain,  295 ;  at  the  Mo- 
doc  stronghold,  298. 

Besias,  Antonio,  276. 

Big  Hole,  battle  of,  352-358. 

Big  Jake's  band,  252. 

Big  Finey  Creek,  182. 

Bingham,  Lieutenant,  killed,  181. 

Blackfeet,  186;  raids  of,  upon  the 
upper  Gallatin  Valley,  257. 

Black  Fork,  disasters  at,  78. 

Black  Jim,  291,  303 ;  trial  and  exe- 
cution of,  306,  307. 

Black  Kettle,  245  et  seq.;  cruelties 
of  his  band,  251-253;  death  of, 
246. 

Black's  Fork,  Camp  Scott  at,  79. 

Blewett,  citizen  scout,  346. 

Blockhouses  or  stockades,  110. 

Blodgett,  guide,  356. 

Bloods,  258. 

Bogus  Charley,  302. 

Border  wars,  early,  39. 

Boston  Charley,  303 ;  trial  and  exe- 
cution of,  306,  307. 

Boston  massacre,  the,  5. 

Bourke,  Lieutenant,  275,  280,  320, 
338. 

Bourke,  Major  John  G.,  on  the 
Apaches,  265,  266. 

Bowers,  Sergeant,  killed,  181. 

Braddock,  General,  and  Franklin,  4. 

Bradley,  Lieutenant  J.  H.,  352, 354 ; 
killed,  357. 

Brant,  Joseph  (Thayendanega),  27. 

Bridger,  Fort,  78, 104, 106 ;  burned, 
78. 

Brock,  General,  50. 

Broth erton,  Captain,  361. 

Brown,  Captain  F.  H.,  181,  182; 
death  of,  185. 

Brown,  Brevet  Major  William,  op- 
erations of,  in  the  Apache  cam- 
paign, 275-285. 

Browning,  Captain,  357. 


Buffalo  Bill  (W.  F.  Cody),  331,  339. 

Buffalo,  the  destruction  of,  171. 

Bull  Bear's  band,  252. 

Burke,  Major,  338. 

Burns,  Captain  James,  276, 278, 283, 

284. 

Burton,  Captain,  346. 
Butler,  General,  mortally  wounded, 

28. 

Cadets,  31-35 ;  pay  of,  33. 

California  Joe  (scout),  241. 

California,  seizure  of,  60. 

Camp,  a  sleeping,  160. 

Campbell,  A.  (boundary  commis- 
sioner), 71. 

Canby,  General  E.  K.  8.,  288 ;  pro- 
poses a  separate  reservation  for 
the  Modocs,  289,  290,  299;  joins 
his  troops  in  the  lava  beds,  299 ; 
with  the  Modoc  Peace  Commis- 
sion, 300 ;  assassination  of,  303. 

Canteen,  the  post,  135, 136 ;  beer  at, 
136 ;  prosperity  of,  137  ;  merits  of, 
138. 

Capitol,  the,  at  Washington  burned, 
50. 

Captain  Jack,  291  et  seg. ;  capture 
of,  306;  trial  and  execution  of, 
306,  307. 

Carpenter,  Colonel  L.  H.,  230;  re- 
lieves Colonel  Forsyth,  232. 

Carr,  General,  surprises  Indians  at 
Summit  Springs,  309,  331. 

Carrington,  Colonel,  in  the  Sioux 
country,  175, 181. 

Carson,  Kit,  60. 

Casey,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Silas, 
relieves  Captain  Pickett  at  San 
Juan  Island,  71.  72. 

Chalmers,  George  W.,  killed,  230. 

Chambers,  Major  Alexander,  314. 

Chemakano  mission,  massacre  of, 
72. 


INDEX. 


381 


Cheyennes,  117,  156,  171,  187,  203, 
205,  207,  229,  246,  255 ;  Northern 
and  Southern,  172,  175;  North- 
ern, 187. 

Cibola,  city  of,  262. 

Cimarron  Eiver,  outrages  on,  150; 
crossing,  attack  at,  204. 

Cities  risen  from  former  army  posts, 
40. 

Clatsop,  Fort,  42. 

Cobb,  Fort,  reservation,  255. 

Comanches,  150,  205,  207,  246; 
Quahrada,  or  Staked  Plains,  255. 

Comba,  Captain  Kichard,  354,  357, 
358. 

Comstock,  William,  206 ;  killed,  208. 

Concord,  the  uprising  at,  8. 

Confederation,  Articles  of,  20. 

Congress,  the  Continental,  reso- 
lutions of,  June  15,  1775,  8;  ap- 
points a  committee  on  a  military 
academy,  13,  14;  action  of,  re- 
specting the  army,  17-20. 

Cooke,  Lieutenant-Colonel  P.  St. 
George,  60,  61 ;  complimentary 
order  of,  at  San  Diego,  62,  63. 

Corbin,  Major-General  H.  C.,  37 
(note). 

Corbin,  scout,  241. 

Coronado,  263. 

Corporal,  the,  89,  90. 

Corrall,  a,  of  iron-lined  wagons,  189. 

Cottonwood  Creek,  action  at,  348- 
351 ;  flight  of  the  Indians,  351. 

Crawford,  Governor,  reports  mas- 
sacre by  Indians,  204. 

Crawford,  Lieutenant,  336. 

Crazy  Horse,  312,  340;  disaffected 
Indians  concentrate  about  him 
and  Sitting  Bull,  312,  315;  re- 
treats after  action  with  General 
Crook's  forces,  341 ;  defeated  at 
Tongue  River,  342 ;  surrenders, 
342. 


Crook,  General  George,  parleys  with 
the  Apaches,  270 ;  takes  command 
in  Arizona,  273;  in  the  Sioux 
campaign  of  1876,  312-342. 

Crosby,  J.  Schuyler,  209,  210,  252. 

Crow  scouts,  315,  320. 

Custer,  General  George  A.,  236  et 
seq. ;  ordered  to  lead  the  winter 
campaign  against  the  Sioux,  236, 
237;  attacks  and  burns  Black 
Kettle's  village,  242-247;  on  the 
Little  Big  Horn  Eiver,  322-327; 
death  of,  827 ;  his  course  reviewed, 
328,  329. 

Cutter,  Mr.  L.  E.,  65. 

Dallas,  Mr.,  65. 

Daly,  Sergeant,  wounded,  356. 

Darke,  Colonel,  28. 

Davis,  Bill,  murdered,  252. 

Davis,  General  Jefferson  C.,  as- 
signed to  the  Department  of  the 
Columbia,  304. 

Deserters,  129. 

Discipline,  89,  90. 

Doane,  Lieutenant,  G.  C.,  46 ;  at  the 
geysers  of  the  Yellowstone,  47. 

Dodge,  Colonel  R.  L,  198 ;  on  the 
character  of  the  Indians,  199,  200. 

Dodge,  Fort,  205,  252. 

Dog  soldiers,  220,  252. 

Donovan,  230. 

Douglas,  Fort,  81. 

Douglas,  Colonial  Governor,  66,  71. 

Drills,  159. 

Drinking,  decline  of,  in  the  army, 
135. 

Dunbar,  Colonel,  retreat  of,  4. 

Dyer,  L.  S.,  peace  commissioner, 
301-303. 

Ellen's  Man,  303. 

Elliott,  Major,  239,  240,  254;  death 
of,  247. 


382 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 


Ellis,  Fort,  258. 

Eltonhead,  Captain,  849. 

Emigrants,  English  and  Dutch,  2. 

English,  Lieutenant  W.  L.,  mor- 
tally wounded,  355,  358. 

Enlisted  men,  character  of,  184; 
pay  of,  in  1785, 17  (note). 

Escort  duty  and  routine  work,  146- 
167. 

Estevancio,  262. 

Expeditions,  unpublished  reports  of, 
46. 

Fairchilds,  J.  A.,  301. 

Felmar,  guide,  276,  278. 

Fetterman,  Brevet  -  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  W.  J.,  attacked  by  In- 
dians, 180-187  ;  death  of,  185. 

Fetterman,  Fort,  General  Crook 
concentrates  cavalry  at,  313. 

Finerty,  Hon.  John  F.,  330 ;  extracts 
from  the  journal  of,  331-333. 

Fisher,  frontiersman,  182, 186. 

Fletcher,  Lieutenant,  349. 

Foreyth,  Brevet  Colonel  George  A., 
209 ;  his  troop  of  scouts,  210-212 ; 
moves  to  Beaver  Creek  and  Fort 
Wallace,  212;  follows  Indians  on 
the  Eepublican  River,  214-216; 
his  eight  days'  siege  and  lighting 
with  the  Indians,  216-232;  is 
wounded,  220 ;  sends  to  Fort  Wal- 
lace for  aid,  227,  228;  losses  of 
his  troop,  227 ;  report  of,  to  Colo- 
nel Bankhead,  229,  230;  is  re- 
lieved by  Colonel  Carpenter,  232. 

Fortress  Monroe,  Artillery  School 
at,  35. 

Forts,  frontier,  102-145 ;  the  line  of, 
104;  building  of,  105;  the  sol- 
dier's home,  105 ;  life  in,  106, 108 ; 
ruins  of,  106 ;  cemeteries  of,  106 ; 
friendships  and  hospitality  at,  109 ; 
the,  of  to-day,  109 ;  post  barracks, 


111,  114,  115;  officers'  quarters, 
111,  113;  daily  routine  at  (cav- 
alry), 115-126 ;  reveille,  116, 161 ; 
mess  call,  117;  stable  call,  117; 
sick  call,  118;  fatigue  call,  118; 
Sunday  morning  inspection,  119 ; 
guard  mounting  and  inspection, 
120;  officer's  orderly,  121;  pris- 
oners in  guardhouse,  123;  guard 
relief,  123;  guard  duty,  124;  let- 
ters, 124;  password,  125;  adju- 
tant's call,  125;  post  bugler,  125; 
dress  parade,  125,  126;  policing, 
126;  Saturday,  126;  Sunday,  126; 
target  practice,  126 ;  corps  spirit, 
126,  127;  barrack  room,  127; 
breaking  monotony,  128;  desert- 
ers, 129;  hunting,  129;  athletic 
games,  129. 

Franklin,  4. 

Frederics,  Sergeant,  wounded,  356. 

Fremont,  Captain,  in  California,  60. 

Gadsden  purchase,  the,  2fil. 

Gallatin  Valley,  massacre  in  the, 
257. 

Game,  extinction  of,  170. 

Gardens,  post  and  company,  97. 

Garrison,  officers'  life  in,  144, 145. 

General,  a,  appointed  by  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  8. 

Getty,  General,  arrests  a  Comanche 
delegation,  256. 

Gibbon,  Brigadier-General  John, 
marches  for  the  mouth  of  the 
Little  Big  Horn,  322 ;  his  report 
of  the  battle  of  Big  Hole,  352-358 ; 
is  wounded,  355. 

Gillem,  Colonel  A.  C.,  300,  302,  S04. 

Glenn,  Mr.,  at  Santa  Fe",  149. 

Gold,  the  discovery  of,  63,  104; 
effect  of,  on  the  army,  64. 

Gordon,  General  J.  B.,  21 2. 

Green,  Major  John,  296,  298. 


INDEX. 


383 


Groveiv  Sharpe,  206,  212,  213,  217, 

220,  221,  224,  229. 

Gruard,  Frank,  scout,  320,  331,  335. 
Grummond,  Lieutenant,  185 ;  death 

of,  186. 

Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  treaty  of,  63. 
Guerriere,    Edmund,   affidavit    of, 

251,  252. 

Hale,  Captain,  359,  360. 

Hall,  Acting-Governor,  reports  dep- 
redations by  Indians,  204. 

Hall,  Fort,  104, 106. 

Hamilton,  Captain,  killed  at  Black 
Kettle's  village,  248. 

Hampton,  General,  command  of,  50. 

Hancock,  Major-General  W.  S., 
258;  his  report  of  the  attack  on 
the  Piegans,  259,  260. 

Hardin,  Colonel,  surprised,  22,  23. 

Hardin,  Lieutenant  E.  E.,  358. 

Harker,  Fort,  207,  210. 

Harmer,  Brigadier- General,  expe- 
dition of,  against  the  Indians,  22, 

23. 
Harney,  Brigadier-General  W.  S., 

65,  71,  76;  orders  Americans  on 

San  Juan  Island  protected,  66. 
Haughey,  Captain,  349. 
Hayes,  President,  and  the  sale  of 

liquors  in  the  army,  139. 
Hays,  Fort,  211. 
Heintzelman,    Major,    builds    Fort 

Yuma,  104. 
Henry,  Brevet  Colonel  Guy  V.,  318 ; 

is  wounded,  319. 
Henry's  Fork,  camp  at,  79. 
Hines,  Assistant-Surgeon,  183. 
Ho-eh-a-mo-a-hoe  (The-man-who- 

breaks-the-marrow-bones),  252. 
Hog  ranches,  140-142. 
Hornby,  Captain,  69,  71. 
Howard,  Brigadier-General   0.  O., 

344  et  seq. ;  takes  the  field  against 


Chief  Joseph,  345 ;  leads  the  at- 
tack at  Little  Big  Hole  Valley, 
and  is  wounded,  352,  353 ;  at  the 
surrender  of  Chief  Joseph,  362. 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  the,  64,  65, 
68. 

Hull,  General,  surrender  of,  49,  50. 

Hunt,  Governor,  reports  Indian 
depredations,  204. 

Hunter,  Captain,  347. 

Indian  border  warfare,  1869-1875, 
309-311. 

Indians,  massacres  by,  and  repri- 
sals, 72,  75 ;  troubles  with,  on  the 
Pacific  coast,  the  great  plains, 
and  the  Texan  border,  1848-1860, 
72-74;  wrongs  of,  74;  troubles 
with,  in  Minnesota  and  Dakota, 
1862,168;  on  the  Western  fron- 
tier, 1866,  1867,  168-198;  from 
1869-1876, 308-311 ;  opposition  of, 
to  the  Pacific  Railroad,  169 ;  alli- 
ance of,  against  the  whites,  171 ; 
list  of  tribes  of  the  plains  and  the 
eastern  Rocky  Mountains,  172; 
character  of,  199-201 ;  in  winter 
camp,  233-235;  wild  tribes  or- 
dered to  their  reservations,  311. 

Indian  trail,  the,  146;  becomes  a 
road,  147. 

Indian  war,  the,  of  1790-'91,  21. 

Infantry,  the  First  United  States, 


Jackson,  Captain,  291,  350,  351 ;  at- 
tempts to  arrest  the  Modoc  lead- 
ers, 291,  292. 

Jackson,  General  Andrew,  51. 

Jackson,  Lieutenant  A.  H.,  358. 

Jacobs,  Lieutenant,  356,  357. 

Jefferson,  President,  and  the  Lou- 
isiana purchase,  41. 

Jenucss,  Lieutenant,  death  of,  197. 


384 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 


Jocelyn,  Captain,  349. 

Johnston,  Colonel  Albert  Sidney, 
takes  command  of  the  Utah  ex- 
pedition, 78. 

Joseph,  Chief,  343  et  seq.  \  pursuit 
of,  345 ;  wonderful  flight  of,  358- 
861;  surrender  of,  361;  his  ad- 
dress, 362. 

Kearny,  Colonel,  conquers  New 
Mexico,  58,  60 ;  marches  to  Cali- 
fornia, 60. 

Kearney,  old  Fort,  104, 106, 178. 

Kennedy,  Sergeant  Major,  killed, 
247. 

«  Killed  by  Indians,"  107. 

King,  Captain  Charles,  330,  334, 
338. 

Kiowas,  172,  205,  207,  246,  254. 

Kitchen,  Peter,  and  his  ranch,  271, 
272. 

Klamath  Reservation,  the,  estab- 
lished, 287. 

Klamaths,  the,  286  ;  and  Yakoskin 
Snakes  and  Modocs,  treaty  with, 
287. 

Kyle,  Corporal,  attacked  by  Indi- 
ans, 309. 

La  Lande  in  Santa  Fe",  148. 

Laramie,  Fort,  104, 106,  173,  202. 

Lamed,  Fort,  207. 

Lava  beds,  the,  292;  the  Modoc 
stronghold  in,  293-298. 

Leavenworth,  Fort,  104,  209.  256 ; 
post-graduate  school  at,  35,  36. 

Lee,  Richard  Henry,  letter  of  Wash- 
ington to,  11. 

Lewis  and  Clark,  expedition  of, 
41-43. 

Lexington,  battle  of,  7. 

Lipans,  150. 

Liquors,  alcoholic,  sale  of,  at  army 
posts  forbidden  by  President 


Hayes,  139;  effect  of  the  prohibi- 
tion, 139-143 ;  an  experiment  at 
Fort  Cummings,  141-143. 

Little  Big  Horn  River,  movements 
of  Terry,  Gibbon,  and  Custer  near 
321-328. 

Little  Powder  River,  Indian  village 
on,  burned,  313. 

Little  Robe,  255. 

Little  Rock,  246  ;  killed,  248. 

Little  Wolf,  342. 

Lodge  Trail  Ridge,  181  et  seq. 

Logan,  Captain  William,  354; 
killed,  357. 

Looking- Glass,  Chief,  killed,  361. 

Louisiana  purchase,  the,  40. 

McCall,  W.  H.  H.,  212,  213, 219,  221, 
224,  225,  231. 

McCormick,  Mr.,  Territorial  Dele- 
gate, 273. 

McDougall,  Captain,  323,  324. 

Mclntosh,  scout,  276,  277,  278. 

McNees,  murder  of,  by  Indians,  150. 

March,  on  the,  158-165. 

Marching  in  the  snow,  237. 

Marshal,  Nat,  murdered,  252. 

Mason,  Major,  298. 

Meacham,  A.  B.,  urges  forcible  re- 
moval of  the  Modocs,  290  ;  peace 
commissioner,  301 ;  meets  Indians 
for  conference,  302 ;  is  wounded, 
303. 

Medicine  Arrow,  252. 

Medicine  Bluff,  256. 

Medicine  guns,  196. 

Medicine  Lodge  Creek,  treaty  of, 
206. 

Mendenhall,  Captain,  805. 

Merriam,  Brigadier- General  H.  C.t 
37  (note). 

Merritt,  General,  joins  General 
Crook,  330,  331. 

Messes,  company,  98,  99. 


INDEX. 


385 


Mexican  War,  the,  48,  54-57  ;  West 
Point  men  in,  55. 

Mexico,  northern,  overland  trade 
with,  148-150. 

Miles,  Captain,  349. 

Miles,  Colonel  and  Brevet  Major- 
General  N.  A.,  messengers  of,  at- 
tacked by  Indians,  311  ;  offers 
peace  to  Sitting  Bull,  341 ;  defeats 
Sitting  Bull  and  Crazy  Horse, 
342 ;  report  of  the  pursuit  of  Chief 
Joseph,  359-361. 

Miles,  Lieutenant- General  Nelson 
A.,  37. 

Military  Academy,  contemplated  by 
the  Continental  Congress,  13, 14 ; 
recommended  by  Washington,  30; 
authorized  by  Congress,  31 ;  es- 
tablished at  West  Point,  31 ;  dis- 
cipline of,  32 ;  curriculum  of,  33. 

Military  instruction  in  colleges  and 
State  and  private  schools,  36,  37. 

Militia,  the  colonial,  7,  8. 

Miller,  Captain  M.  P.,  345,  349,  350. 

Mills,  Captain  Anson,  316-319; 
(major)  sent  to  the  Black  Hills 
for  supplies,  334 ;  attacks  a  Sioux 
village,  334 ;  is  joined  by  General 
Crook,  336 ;  battle  with  Indians 
in  a  cave,  387 ;  surrender  of  the 
Indians,  339,  340. 

Minute  men,  the,  7. 

Modoc  assassins,  trial  and  punish- 
ment of,  306,  307. 

Modoc  war,  the,  286-307;  begin- 
ning of  hostilities,  291. 

Modocs,  the,  286 ;  assigned  to  the 
Klamath  Reservation,  287;  driven 
away  by  the  Klamaths,  287,  288  ; 
return  to  their  old  home,  288  ; 
settlers  oppose  their  return,  289  ; 
attempts  to  negotiate  with,  299, 
800;  treachery  of,  300,  302;  bat- 
tles with,  in  their  stronghold, 


295-299,  304,  305;   surrender  of, 

306. 

Monroe,  murder  of,  by  Indians,  150. 
Mooers,  Dr.  J.  H.,  212,  220 ;  death 

of,  221. 
Mormon  battalion,  the,  march  of,  to 

California,  60-63. 
Morris,  Captain,  349. 
Morrison,  James,    sends   goods  to 

Santa  F6, 148. 

Mountain  Meadow  massacre,  81. 
Mule  trains,  escort  of,  153-155. 
Munson,  Major,  338. 

Nantjee,  Apache  scout,  276. 
Navajo,  263. 

New  Mexico,  conquest  of,  58-60. 
New  Orleans,  campaign  and  battle 

of,  51-54. 
New  York   State,  British  invasion 

of,  51. 
Nez  Perce"  campaign,  the,  286,  343- 

362. 

Niza,  Fray  Marcos  de,  262. 
North  Platte,  202. 
Noyes,  Major  H.  E.,  314  et  seg. 

Odeneal,  Superintendent  F.  B., 
letter  of,  to  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Frank  Wheaton,  290 ;  directs  pres- 
sure used  upon  the  Modocs,  291. 

Officer,  army,  the,  mode  of  appoint- 
ment of,  35-37 ;  expenses  of,  143 ; 
habits  of,  144;  not  a  politician, 
364 ;  life  and  schooling  of,  371  et 
seq. ;  personality  of,  374, 375  ;  pro- 
motion of,  375,  376;  in  battle, 
376,  377  ;  self-devotion  of,  378. 

Oldham,  Colonel,  26. 

Ollicut  (brother  of  Chief  Joseph) 
killed,  861. 

Onorato,  Friar,  262. 

Oration,  memorial,  of  Dr.  Joseph 
Warren,  5. 


386 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  SOLDIER. 


Oregon,  British  claim  to,  64. 
Osage  scouts,  241. 
Otis,  Lieutenant,  350. 
Otis,  Major-General,  E.  S.,  37. 
Ox  trains,  escort  of,  151, 152. 

Parr,  Mr.,  206. 

Pawnee  Fork,  203;  massacre  at, 
204. 

Peno  Creek,  181. 

Perry,  Captain,  295;  sent  against 
Chief  Joseph,  344;  attacked  by 
White  Bird,  345. 

Phil  Kearny,  Fort,  174 et  seq.',  build- 
ing of,  177;  siege  of,  180-187; 
tight  at,  188-197;  abandoned, 
203,  235. 

Pickett,  Captain  George  E.,  at  San 
Juan  Island,  66-71. 

Piegans,  the,  expedition  against, 
258 ;  surprise  and  punishment  of, 
259  ;  the  act  defended  by  General 
Hancock,  259,  260. 

Pike,  Zebulon  M.,  the  two  expedi- 
tions of,  43-48 ;  extracts  from  the 
journal  of,  44,  45. 

Pilot  Hill,  179. 

Pimas,  the,  264,  276,  277. 

Pioneers,  the  earliest,  of  North 
America,  2. 

Pliley,  230. 

Pollock,  Captain,  349. 

Powder  River  road,  the  building  of, 
opposed  by  the  Sioux,  202 ; 
abandonment  of,  recommended, 
203,  235. 

Powell,  Major  James,  187 ;  at  Fort 
Phil  Kearny,  188-197. 

Powell,  Major  J.  H.,  338. 

President  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, letter  of  Washington  to,  11. 

Price,  Major,  811. 

Pursley,  James,  settles  in  Santa  Fa", 
148. 


Queenstown,  battle  of,  50. 

Railroads,  opposition  of  the  Indians 

to,  170,  173 ;  the  Pacific,  and  the 

Indian  mode  of  life,  170. 
Railway    constructors,    guards    to, 

155. 
Rains,  Lieutenant,  ambuscaded  and 

killed,  346. 

Randall,  Major,  320,  331. 
Rawn,  Captain  C.  C.,  354. 
Recruit,  the,  84-88. 
Red  Cloud,  alliance  of  Sioux  tribes 

under,  172, 181, 193  et  seq. 
Red  Nose,  252. 
Regulars,  British,  and  the  colonists, 

8,  4 ;  home  ties  of,  weak,  56. 
Reno,  Fort,  and  its  abandonment, 

174,  178,  201,  203,  235. 
Reno,  Major,  on  the  Little  Big  Horn, 

323  et  seq. 

Reynolds,  Colonel  J.  J.,  313. 
Riddle,  Frank,  300  et  seq. 
Rifle  practice,  85,  86, 135. 
Robinson,  Lewis,  77. 
Rodney,  Captain,  350,  351. 
Rogue  River  Valley, Indian  uprising 

in,  73. 
Roman  Nose,  220  et  seq. ;  death  of, 

225. 

Roseborough,  Judge,  301. 
Rosebud,  the,  battle  of,  815-321. 
Ross,  General,  capture  of  Washing- 
ton by,  50,  51. 
Ross,    Lieutenant    J.  M.,  275,  279, 

280. 
Royall,  Colonel  W.  B.,  814, 319,  331. 

St.  Clair,  Major-General  Arthur, 
campaign  of,  against  the  Indians, 
23-29. 

Sales,  Corporal,  killed,  356. 

Saline,  the,  massacre  at,  237,  251, 
252. 


INDEX. 


387 


Salt  River  Canon,  the,  Apache 
stronghold  in,  276-279;  capture 
of,  279-284. 

,San  Juan  Island,  dispute  over,  66- 
72. 

Sanno,  Captain  M.  J.,  354,  357. 

Santa  Fe"  trail,  the,  trouble  with 
Indians  on,  149, 150. 

Santa  F6  Railway,  the,  151. 

Scar-faced  Charley,  291. 

Schermerhorn,  Mr.,  207. 

Schloluck,  307. 

Schonchin,  303;  trial  and  execu- 
tion of,  306,  307. 

Schwatka,  Lieutenant,  335. 

Scott,  General  Winfield,  55. 

Search,  right  of,  48. 

Sedgewick,  Fort,  310. 

Shacknasty  Jim,  303. 

Shaw,  Fort,  258. 

Sheridan,  General  P.  H.,  202,  205, 
235;  re  port  of,  on  Indian  relations, 
205-209;  takes  the  Held  against 
the  Sioux  in  person,  209. 

Sherman,  Lieutenant-General  W. 
T., report  of,  on  the  military  divi- 
sion of  the  Missouri,  1858,  201- 
205;  856. 

Shubrick,  the,  71. 

Simpson's  Hollow,  supply  trains 
burned  at,  77. 

Sioux,  44, 117, 168, 179,  181 ;  bands 
of,  at  Fort  Phil  Kearny,  186  ;  the 
campaign  of  1868  and  1869,  199- 
260 ;  the  campaign  of  1876,  808- 
329 ;  General  George  Crook  in, 
312,  321 ;  Minneconjous,  186 ; 
Upper  Brule",  186 ;  Sans  Arcs, 
186  ;  Ogallalla,  220,  312. 

Sitting  Bull,  173,  312,  315 ;  refuses 
terms  of  peace,  341 ;  escapes  into 
British  territory,  342 ;  returns  and 
surrenders,  343. 

Slim  Buttes,  fight  at,  330. 


Smith,  Captain,  relieves  Major  Pow- 
ell at  Fort  Phil  Kearny,  197. 

Smith,  Fort  C.  F.,  abandoned,  201, 
203,  235. 

Smith,  General  P.  F.,  76. 

Smith,  Major,  197. 

Smoky  Hill  Kiver,  skirmish  near, 
156, 157. 

Snake  scouts,  315,  320. 

Snyder,  Captain,  360. 

Soldier,  qualities  of  a  good,  90. 

Soldier,  the  American,  individuality 
and  self-reliance  of,  82 ;  character 
of,  83,  84;  thirty  years  ago  and 
to-day,  91,  92 ;  qualifications  of, 
93,  94 ;  pay  of,  94 ;  on  the  retired 
list,  94;  clothing  allowance  and 
rations  of,  94-96  ;  savings  and  de- 
posit accounts  of,  100;  advan- 
tages of  the  life  of,  101. 

Solomon,  the,  attack  on  the  settle- 
ments on,  207,  251,  252. 

Stages,  the,  passing  of,  155. 

Stanton,  Colonel,  331. 

States,  jealousies  of,  19,  20. 

Steele,  Judge,  seeks  to  confer  with 
the  Modocs,  300. 

Stillwell,  Jack,  227. 

Stockton,  Commodore,  and  Captain 
Fremont,  revolutionize  and  seize 
California,  60. 

Sturgis,  General,  361. 

Sullivant's  Hill,  action  near,  181- 
187. 

Sumner,  Major,  60. 

Supply,  Camp,  236. 

Swearing,  decline  of,  135. 

Sweetwater,  the,  disasters  at,  77,  78. 

Tall  Bull,  255. 
Taylor,  Captain  A.  B.,  275. 
Taylor,  General  Zachary,  55,  58. 
Ten  Eyck,  Captain,  183-185. 
Tents,  166. 


388 


THE  STORY  OP  THE  SOLDIER. 


Terry,  General  A.  H.,  201,  312;  in 
the  Little  Big  Horn  campaign, 
321,  322,  327. 

Theller,  Lieutenant,  killed,  345. 

Thomas,  Lieutenant  Earl  D.,  276. 

Thomas,  Rev.  Dr.,  peace  commis- 
sioner, assassinated  by  the  Mo- 
docs,  303. 

Tobe,  301,  303,  306. 

Tongue  River,  tight  on,  342. 

Tonto  Basin,  operations  in,  275. 

Too-hul-hul-sote (White  Bird),  245, 
344 ;  killed,  361. 

Townsend,  Major-General  E.ID.,  205. 

Trade  caravans,  escort  of,  150. 

Treaty,  a  mistaken,  174. 

Trimble,  Captain,  347. 

Trudeau,  227. 

Turkey  Leg  camp,  208. 

Tyler,  Captain,  360. 

Ugarle,  General,  263. 

Utah  expedition,  the,  of  1857, 75-81. 

Van  Orsdale,  Lieutenant  J.  T.,358. 

Veteran,  the,  130-132. 

Volunteers,  8 ;  behaviour  of,  55 ;  and 

their  home  ties,  56  ;  and  regulars 

as  letter  writers,  56,  57. 
Von  Leutwitz,  Lieutenant,  336. 
Vroom,  Captain,  319. 

Wade,  Brigadier-General  James  F., 
37  (note). 

Waggoner  massacre,  the,  73. 

Walnut  Creek,  massacre  at,  251. 

Wands,  Lieutenant,  181. 

War  Department,  the,  administra- 
tive bureaus  of,  365, 366 ;  adjutant 
general's,  366 ;  inspector-gen- 
eral's, 366 ;  judge-advocate  gen- 
eral's, 366;  quartermaster's,  366; 
subsistence,  367 ;  pay,  867  ;  med- 
ical, 367 ;  engineers',  367 ;  ord- 


nance, 367,  368 ;  the  department 
in  the  Spanish  war,  368,  369. 

Ward,  Major-General  Artemas,  8. 

War  of  1812,  the,  48-51. 

War,  the  Secretary  of,  365. 

Wars,  European  and  Asiatic,  1607- 
1765,  3. 

Washakie,  Shoshone  chief,  331. 

Washburne,  General  H.  D.,  47. 

Washington,  George,  elected  gen- 
eral, 9;  character  and  qualifica- 
tions of,  9, 10,  14 ;  extracts  from 
letters  of,  10-13. 

Weichell,  Mrs.,  wounded  by  Sioux, 
310. 

Weir,  Captain,  325. 

Wells,  Lieutenant- General  D.  H. 
(Mormon),  77. 

Wheatly,  182, 186. 

Wheaton,  Lieutenant  -  Colonel 
Frank,  operations  of,  in  the  Mo- 
doc  campaign,  290-298. 

Whipple,  Captain,  346,  349. 

White,  Jim,  scout,  killed,  339. 

Wilkinson,  General,  expedition  of, 
against  Montreal,  50. 

Wilkinson,  Lieutenant,  349. 

William,  coloured  servant,  356. 

Williams,  Captain  Constant,  357. 

Williams,  Lieutenant,  349,  354. 

Wilson,  William,  killed,  230. 

Winder,  General,  50. 

Winter  campaign,  the,  against  the 
Sioux,  of  1868  and  1869,  233-253 ; 
is  denounced,  249 ;  General  Sher- 
idan's report  of,  249-251 ;  the  pur- 
pose of,  250,  251  ;  its  success,  256 ; 
a  second  campaign,  253-260;  re- 
sults, 308. 

Winters,  Captain,  349,  351. 

Women  at  army  posts,  112, 113, 132, 
133, 159. 

Woodbridge,  Lieutenant  Francis, 
358. 


INDEX. 


389 


Woodford,  Colonel  William,  letter 
of  Washington  to,  10. 

Woodruff,  Lieutenant  C.  A.,  wound- 
ed, 355,  358. 

Wright,  Captain  Ben,  72,  73. 


Yakoskin  Snakes,  287. 
Young,  Brighani,  forbids  advance 
of  troops,  77 ;  yields,  80. 

Zuni  towns,  263. 


THE   END. 


20 


D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


T 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   WEST   SERIES. 
EDITED  BY  RIPLEY  HITCHCOCK. 

"HE  STORY  OF  THE  MINE.  As  Illustrated 
by  the  Great  Comstock  Lode  of  Nevada.  By  CHARLES  HOW- 
ARD SHINN.  Illustrated.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  Mr.  Shinn's  volume  is  a  fairly  complete  picture  of  the  mining  industries  of  the 
Pacific  States,  and  should  be  read  by  every  one  who  desires  an  accurate  idea  of  this 
phase  of  Western  history.  While  his  book  is  written  from  the  popular  point  of  view, 
it  is  correct  as  to  scientific  data,  and  can  be  trusted  on  all  points  as  to  accuracy.  It  is 
the  work  of  a  writer  who  knows  what  he  is  talking  about." — Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  Few  chapters  of  recent  history  are  more  fascinating  than  that  which  ftfr.  Shinn 
has  told  in  '  The  Story  of  the  Mine.  .  .  .  The  phase  of  social  and  industrial  life  which 
he  describes  is  both  interesting  and  picturesque.  Mr.  Shinn  has  drawn  his  picture 
skillfully  and  sympathetically,  and  he  knows  the  country  and  people  at  first  hand." — 
The  Outlook. 

"The  figures  of  the  prospector  and  miner  are  clearly  outlined  in  the  course  of  the 
romantic  story  of  that  natural  treasure  house  which  more  than  any  other  embodies  the 
romance,  the  vicissitudes,  the  triumphs,  the  excitement,  and  the  science  of  mining 
lite." — San  Francisco  Examiner. 

"  The  author  has  written  a  book  not  alone  full  of  information,  but  replete  with  the 
true  romance  of  the  American  mine." — New  York  Times. 

"The  story  of  the  Comstock  Lode  is  the  great  mining  romance  of  the  quarter  cen- 
tury in  which  it  occurs.  It  reads  more  like  one  of  the  Arabian  Wights'  entertainment 
than  like  a  narrative  of  sober  fact,  and  yet  all  that  has  been  set  down  here  is  true." — 
Colorado  Springs  Gazette. 

"Mr.  Shinn  has  succeeded  in  bringing  out  in  clear  relief  the  figures  of  the  pros- 
pector and  the  miner.  .  .  .  Besides  the  romantic  side  of  the  subject  Mr.  Shinn  adds 
practical  chapters  upon  finding,  testing,  and  working  ores,  the  great  mechanical  prob- 
lems solved,  the  appliances  for  mining  successfully,  etc.  The  volume  is  thus  not  only 
fascinating  but  useful,  and  illustrates  fully  the  outward  and  inward  aspects  of  mines 
and  their  operations."  —Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

"  The  book  will  appeal  to  readers  who  have  seen  something  of  the  regions  or  the 
life  it  so  vividly  portrays,  as  well  as  to  those  who  seek  clear  information  concerning  the 
most  important  factor  in  the  development  of  the  western  half  of  the  great  American 
continent."— The  Dial,  Chicago. 

"  Certainly  no  other  mines  have  witnessed  productions  so  phenomenal,  fortunes 
more  wonderful,  or  collapses  more  sudden  and  disastrous  than  the  Comstock.  Its  story 
has  been  told  in  detached  fragments  before,  but  this  is  the  first  attempt  to  present  the 
whole  history  in  logical  sequence.  Mr.  Shinn  gives  all  the  facts,  but  he  has  the  rare 
art  of  putting  his  statistics  in  such  form  as  to  interest  the  reader  who  knows  little  about 
mining.  He  also  has  a  style  that  makes  this  record  as  readable  as  a  work  of  fiction. 
.  .  .  The  book  deserves  many  readers,  for  it  is  the  result  of  honest  work  in  a  new  field, 
done  by  one  whose  keen  sympathy  with  the  prospector  lends  a  human  interest  to  his 
story,  and  whose  personal  familiarity  with  all  the  details  of  mining  gives  life  and  reality 
to  all  his  pen  pictures." — San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

"The  whole  exciting  series  of  ups  and  downs  has  found  a  historian  with  a  knowl- 
edge and  descriptive  power  that  render  the  work  the  best  and  most  romantic  we  have 
seen  concerning  any  American  industry.  It  is  an  admirable  example  of  how  the  prac- 
tical can  be  at  the  same  time  interesting." — Baltimore  Sun. 


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T 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   WEST   SERIES. 
EDITED  BY  RIPLEY  HITCHCOCK. 

STORY  OF  THE  INDIAN.  By  GEORGE 
BIRD  GRINNELL,  author  of  "  Pawnee  Hero  Stories,"  "  Blackfoot 
Lodge  Tales,"  etc.  Illustrated.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"  In  every  way  worthy  of  an  author  who,  as  an  authority  upon  the  Western  In- 
dians, is  second  to  none.  A  book  full  of  color,  abounding  in  observation,  and  remark- 
able in  sustained  interest,  it  is  at  the  same  time  characterized  by  a  grace  of  style  which 
is  rarely  to  be  looked  for  in  such  a  work,  and  which  adds  not  a  little  to  the  charm  of 
it." — London  Daily  Chronicle. 

"  A  valuable  study  of  Indian  life  and  character.  .  .  .  An  attractive  book,  ...  in 
large  part  one  on  which  the  Indians  themselves  might  have  written." — New  York 
'1  ribune. 

"Only  an  author  qualified  by  personal  experience  could  offer  us  a  profitable  study 
of  a  race  so  alien  from  our  own  as  is  the  Indian  in  thought,  feeling,  and  culture.  Only 
long  associations  with  Indians  can  enable  a  white  man  measurably  to  comprehend  their 
thoughts  and  enter  into  their  feelings.  Such  association  has  been  Mr.  Grinnell's." — 
New  York  Sun. 

"  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  volume  is  one  for  scholars  and  libraries  of  refer- 
ence. It  is  far  more  than  that.  While  it  is  a  true  story,  yet  it  is  a  story  none  the  less 
abounding  in  picturesque  description  and  charming  anecdote.  We  regard  it  as  a  valu- 
able contribution  to  American  literature." — New  York  Mail  and  Express. 

"  Among  the  various  books  respecting  the  aborigines  of  America,  Mr.  Grinnell's 
easily  takes  a  leading  position.  He  takes  the  reader  directly  to  the  camp-fire  and  the 
council,  and  shows  us  the  American  Indian  as  he  really  is.  ...  A  book  which  will 
convey  much  interesting  knowledge  respecting  a  race  which  is  now  fast  passing  away." 
— Boston  Commercial  Bulletin. 

"A  most  attractive  book,  which  presents  an  admirably  graphic  picture  of  the  actual 
Indian,  whose  home  life,  religious  observances,  amusements,  together  with  the  various 
phases  of  his  devotion  to  war  and  the  chase,  and  finally  the  effects  of  encroaching  civil- 
ization, are  delineated  with  a  certainty  and  an  absence  of  sentimentalism  or  hostile 
prejudice  that  impart  a  peculiar  distinction  to  this  eloquent  story  of  a  passing  life."— 
Buffalo  Commercial. 

"  Full  of  information,  and  written  in  a  style  which  appeals  to  the  average  reader."— 
New  York  Herald. 

"  The  author  is  master  of  a  peculiarly  clear  and  graphic  style,  and  his  book  has  a 
most  fascinating  interest.  It  gives  to  its  readers  an  understanding  of  a  much-mis- 
understood race." — Boston  Advertiser. 

"A  clear,  true,  and  forcible  picture  of  a  race  which  is  fast  passing  away."— Boston 
Herald. 

"No  man  is  better  qualified  than  Mr.  Grinnell  to  write  the  story  of  the  original 
owner  of  the  West.  ...  He  knows  the  Indian  as  a  savage  and  also  as  a  man;  he 
understands  him  not  as  an  enemy,  nor  as  a  patron,  but  as  an  associate,  a  comrade,  and 
a  fellow  man.  The  book  is  valuable,  instructive,  and  entertaining." — New  York  Ob- 
server. 

"An  intensely  interesting  book.  .  .  .  Clearly  and  concisely  told,  and  the  whole 
history  good  for  the  American  to  read.  ...  An  educator  in  a  field  in  which  the  public 
needs  education,  and  only  does  simple  justice  to  those  yet  unable  to  do  justice  to  them- 
selves."— Chicago  Inter-Ocean. 

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D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


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THE   STORY   OF   THE   WEST    SERIES. 
EDITED  BY  RIPLEY  HITCHCOCK. 

"HE     STORY    OF     THE    COWBOY.      By    E. 

HOUGH,  author  of  "  The  Singing  Mouse  Stories,"  etc.  Illus- 
trated by  William  L.  Wells  and  C.  M.  Russell.  I2mo.  Cloth, 
$1.50. 

"  Mr.  Hough  writes  whereof  he  knows.  The  sympathetic  style  in  which  he  handles 
his  subject  arises  out  of  close  association  and  practical  experience  in  the  cowboy's 
saddle.  His  account  of  the  rude  and  stirring  life  of  other  days  upon  the  Western 
plains,  therefore,  has  all  the  graphic  vigor  of  an  eyewitness  and  expert  cow-puncher. 
Yet  to  this  he  adds  a  polished  and  diversified  literary  style  such  as  one  would  scarcely 
expect  to  find  coupled  with  his  other  qualifications.  The  result  is  a  thoroughly  inter' 
esting  and  valuable  volume.  There  is  just  enough  of  the  poetic  touch  in  Mr.  Hough's 
treatment  to  preserve  the  romantic  picturesqueness  of  the  vanishing  figure  he  portrays. 
.  .  .  At  once  history  and  literature,  with  the  added  merit  of  being  as  interesting  as  thff 
best  of  fiction." — Chicago  Tribune. 

"  Mr.  Hough  is  to  be  thanked  for  having  written  so  excellent  a  book.  The  cowboj) 
story,  as  this  author  has  told  it,  will  be  the  cowboy's  fitting  eulogy.  This  volume  will 
be  consulted  in  years  to  come  as  an  authority  on  past  conditions  of  the  far  West 
For  fine  literary  work  the  author  is  to  be  highly  complimented.  Here,  certainly,  we 
have  a  choice  piece  of  writing." — New  York  Times. 

"  Not  to  know  the  cowboy  is  to  acknowledge  a  wide  gap  in  our  acquaintance  with 
American  products.  To  know  him  as  this  book  teaches  him,  to  meet  him  fairly, 
squarely,  face  to  face,  to  follow  him  in  the  saddle,  winter  and  summer,  to  eat,  sleep, 
and  fight  with  him  through  the  pages  of  this  book,  is  a  liberal  education  and  a  highly 
refreshing  and  invigorating  experience.  He  is  worthy  of  the  book  and  the  book  is 
worthy  of  him." — Providence  Neu^ 

"  One  of  the  most  readable  booki  that  have  appeared  in  many  a  day.  ...  A  book 
which  is  a  genuine  addition  to  the  literature  of  the  West." — San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

"An  unusually  vivid  and  interesting  picture  of  Western  life,  .  .  .  valuable  for  two 
reasons— first,  because  it  is  a  true  history  of  cowboy  life,  and,  second,  because  it  gives 
a  graphic  account  of  the  important  cattle  industry  of  the  West." — New  York  Herald. 

"  Nothing  fresher  or  finer  has  been  w~Uten  in  many  a  day.  .  .  .  An  admirabler 
book." — Chicago  Evening  Post. 

"  We  do  not  believe  there  is  a  living  authority  better  equipped  for  the  work  than 
Mr.  Hough.  ...  It  is  more  than  a  story  in  the  sense  of  an  entertaining  tale;  it  is  a 
history  of  the  great  commercial  drama  of  the  West." — Minneapolis  Tribune. 

"  The  book  is,  without  a  shadow  of  a  doubt,  one  of  the  most  notable  contributions 
to  American  narrative  history  yet  published." — Cincinnati  Commercial  Tribune. 

"  In  the  history  of  pioneer  days  of  the  West  there  are  few  chapters  better  worth  tha 
writing  than  that  which  deals  with  the  rise  and  growth  of  the  great  cattle  industry. 
.  .  .  Mr  Hough,  combining  actual  knowledge  with  the  power  of  ^Japhic  expression, 
give*;  a  true  picture  of  this  fast- vanishing  representative  of  this  great ..  _iman  industry." 
—  New  York  Sun. 

"  Mr.  Hough  has  written  an  intensely  interesting  book,  and  it  seems  that  he  was 
just  the  man  to  write  it.  ...  The  book  was  needed.  The  true  story  of  the  cowboy  is 
given  at  last,  and  in  a  peculiarly  entertaining  manner.  Mr.  Hough  has  scored  an  in- 
dubitable success." — Buffalo  Enquirer. 

"  The  book  is  thrilling  and  absorbing,  and  makes  the  commonplace  novel  fall  into 
Insignificance." — St.  Paul  Globe. 


D.  APPLETON  AND   COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


D.   APPLETON  AND  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


"T^HE    DISASTER.      A   Romance   of   the    Franco- 
•*       Prussian  War.     By  PAUL  and  VICTOR  MARGUERITE.     i2mo. 
Cloth,  $1.50. 

"Taken  all  in  all,  '  The  Disaster'  is  a  charming  picture  of  heroism  among  the  rank 
and  file  of  the  French  defenders,  and  throws  much  light  upon  the  feelings  and  experi- 
ences of  the  people  in  that  hour  of  national  humiliation,  while  its  battle  and  siege 
scenes  are  often  of  thrilling  animation.  It  is  well  worth  an  attentive  perusal."  —  New 
York  Home  Journal. 

"The  exciting  incidents  passing  in  rapid  succession  are  so  graphically  and  artistic- 
ally described,  and  the  characters  participating  so  clearly  portrayed,  that  there  is  cease. 
less  interest,  and  the  reader  follows  the  unfolding  of  the  story  with  almost  breathless 
attention."-  Boston  Globe. 

"  It  is  an  addition  to  the  literature  of  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  which  will  be  wel- 
comed by  all  who  are  interested  in  the  history  of  that  struggle."  —  Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  The  book  once  closed,  we  perceive  that  the  reading  has  done  us  good;  that  it  has 
left  us  not  saddened,  but  stimulated  ;  that  our  eyes  are  dry,  and  that  the  blood  runs 
more  rapidly  in  our  veins.  Our  soul  has  been  stirred  in  its  best  part,  our  mind  has 
been  elevated,  our  heart  is  filled  with  generous  sentiment."  —  Boston  Journal. 

"  '  The  Disaster  '  is  a  serious  effort  that  can  not  fail  to  create  widespread  interest.  N 
—  Chicago  Evening  Post. 

"  Has  the  authority  of  knowledge."  —  New  York  Nation. 

"  Stands  alone  as  the  very  best  military  novel  of  the  day."  —  Boston  Saturday 
Evening  Gazette. 

"  This  powerful  picture  of  the  fate  of  the  Army  of  the  Rhine,  by  the  sons  of  one  of 
the  generals  who  did  their  duty,  is  among  the  finest  descriptions  of  war  that  have  been 
penned."  —  London  Atheneeum. 


T 


BROOM  OF  THE  WAR-GOD.  A  Story 
of  the  Recent  War  between  the  Greeks  and  Turks.  By  HENRY 
NOEL  BRAILSFORD.  i2mo.  Cloth,  $1.25. 

"  The  book  is  a  fine  story  of  war  times,  not  without  its  love  interest,  and  will  be 
sure  to  win  many  admirers." — New  York  Press. 

"  '  The  Broom  of  the  War-God  '  must  be  commended  as  a  book  of  decidedly  unusual 
quality.  It  is  vivid,  strong,  realistic,  and  never  sensational." — Brooklyn  Eagle. 

"  Mr.  Brailsfprd  is  not  pretending  to  write  history,  but  he  has  given  us,  by  his 
selection  of  significant  details,  a  historical  picture  of  convincing  reality  that  is  entitled 
to  the  warmest  appreciation."— Philadelphia  Times. 

"  The  book  has  more  than  a  passing  interest ;  it  is  an  excellent  contribution  to  his- 
tory on  the  side  of  romance." — Boston  Saturday  Evening  Gazette. 

"  It  is  a  remarkable  picture,  drawn  with  bold  and  telling  strokes,  and  full  of  life  and 
action."— Detroit  Free  Press. 

"  Mr.  Brailsford  is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  production  of  a  book  that  has  histor- 
ical as  well  as  artistic  value." — Boston  Beacon. 

"  Mr.  Brailsford  is  a  literary  artist,  and  while  he  interests  us  by  his  vivid  portraiture, 
he  also  charms  us  by  the  poetic  strain  of  his  narration  and  the  clearness  and  beauty  o 
his  style.  .  .  .  The  work  is  the  best  contribution  to  the  inside  history  ...  of  that  war 
that  has  yet  been  written." — Philadelphia  Public  Ledger. 

"The  story  is  captivating,  both  as  to  plot  and  the  manner  of  its  development"— 
San  Francisco  Call.  

D.   APPLETON   AND   COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


D.   APPLETON   AND  COMPANY'S  PUBLICATIONS. 


A 


FRENCH  VOLUNTEER  OF  THE  WAR  OF 
INDEPENDENCE.  By  the  Chevalier  DE  PONTGIBAUD. 
Translated  and  edited  by  Robert  B.  Douglas.  With  Introduc- 
tion and  Frontispiece.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

"A  new  light  is  thrown  upon  the  days  of  1776  in  this  delightful  book.  .  .  .  The 
Chevalier  tells  his  story  well."—  t\ew  York  Mail  and  Express. 

"  The  importance  of  such  a  book  as  '  A  French  Volunteer  of  the  War  of  Independ- 
ence '  can  not  be  gainsaid.  Its  interest  is  correspondingly  deep,  and  Americans  of 
to-day  can  not  spend  their  time  more  profitably  or  entertainingly  than  in  perusing  this 
new  volume  of  reminiscences."  —  Cincinnati  Commercial  Tribune. 

"  It  could  not  be  possible  to  overrate  the  excellence  of  this  book,  either  as  a  romance 
of  French- American  history,  or  as  the  personal  memoir  of  a  notable  character.  Clothed 
in  terms  of  the  purest  diction,  dealing  with  historic  facts  of  the  most  intense  interest, 
brimful  of  witty  don-mots,  it  carries  the  reader  over  an  enchanted  ground  of  historical 
adventures,  from  the  famed  valley  of  Auvergne  in  the  heart  of  France,  to  Valley  Forge 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  thence  over  all  the  hallowed  pathways  trodden  by  the  fathers  of 
American  liberation." — Philadelphia  Item. 

"  The  book  is  readable  throughout.  It  throws  countless  pleasant  and  instructive 
side  lights  on  our  early  history,  and  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  an  era  that  has 
already  become  a  part  of  dim  antiquity." — Boston  Saturday  Evening  Gazette. 

"  Historically  the  story  is  of  great  value,  and  in  style  it  bears  all  the  pleasing  qual- 
ities of  fiction." — San  Francisco  Call. 

"  From  first  to  last  the  book  is  calculated  to  hold  the  reader's  attention,  and  the 
light-hearted,  racy  style  in  which  it  is  written  adds  to  its  attractiveness." — San  Fran- 
cisco Bulletin. 

"  As  a  picture  of  early  days  in  our  country,  drawn  by  a  careful  and  conscientious, 
a  just  and  sympathetic  man  of  culture  and  training,  the  volume  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance, and  it  is  a  distinct  acquisition  to  the  literature  of  the  history  of  this  country." 
— New  York  Press. 


A 


SOLDIER  OF  MANHATTAN,  and  his  Adven- 
tures at  Ticonderoga  and  Quebec.  By  J.  A.  ALTSHELER,  author 
of  "  The  Sun  of  Saratoga."  No.  225,  Appletons'  Town  and 
Country  Library.  I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.00  ;  paper,  50  cents. 

"  Stories  of  colonial  times  are  very  popular  at  th>:  present  time,  and  the  incidents  of 
this  story  are  of  a  nature  to  keep  up  the  reader's  interest  throughout.  The  customs 
and  manners  of  the  times  are  well  described,  and  the  author  has  caught  the  spirit  of 
the  epoch  thoroughly." — Baltimore  Sun. 

"  There  is  a  pretty  international  love  story  running  through  the  novel.  .  .  .  There 
are  many  interesting  descriptions  of  the  social  life  of  the  times  in  the  book." — New 
York  Press. 

"  A  stirring  historical  romance." — San  Francisco  Argonaut. 
'•  The  romance  is  well  written  and  exciting." — Cleveland  World. 

"  It  abounds  in  dramatic  situations;  is  crispy  and  attractively  written,  and  no  small 
part  of  its  charm  lies  in  its  well-drawn  pictures  of  the  life  of  the  people  and  the  spirit 
of  the  soldiery." — Detroit  Free  Press. 


D.   APPLETON   AND   COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


McMASTER'S   FIFTH   VOLUME. 

History  of  the  People  of  the  United 

States. 

By  Prof.  JOHN  BACH  MCMASTER.  Vols.  I,  II,  III, 
IV,  and  V  now  ready.  8vo.  Cloth,  with  Maps, 
$2.50  per  volume. 

The  fifth  volume  covers  the  time  of  the  administrations  of 
John  Quincy  Adams  and  Andrew  Jackson,  and  describes  the 
development  of  the  democratic  spirit,  the  manifestations  of  new 
interest  in  social  problems,  and  the  various  conditions  and  plans 
presented  between  1821  and  1830.  Many  of  the  subjects  in- 
cluded have  necessitated  years  of  first-hand  investigations,  and 
are  now  treated  adequately  for  the  first  time. 

"John  Bach  McMaster  needs  no  introduction,  but  only  a  greeting.  .  .  . 
The  appearance  of  this  fifth  volume  is  an  event  in  American  literature 
second  to  none  in  importance  this  season. " — New  York  Times. 

"This  volume  contains  576  pages,  and  every  page  is  worth  reading. 
The  author  has  ransacked  a  thousand  new  sources  of  information,  and  has 
found  a  wealth  of  new  details  throwing  light  upon  all  the  private  and  public 
activities  of  the  American  people  of  three  quarters  of  a  century  ago." — 
Chicago  Tribune. 

"  In  the  fifth  volume  Professor  McMaster  has  kept  up  to  the  high  standard 
he  set  for  himself  in  the  previous  numbers.  It  is  hard  to  realize  thoroughly 
the  amount  of  detailed  work  necessary  to  produce  these  books,  which  con- 
tain the  best  history  of  our  country  that  has  yet  been  published." — Philadel- 
phia Telegraph. 

"  The  first  installment  of  the  history  came  as  a  pleasant  surprise,  and 
the  later  volumes  have  maintained  a  high  standard  in  regard  to  research 
and  style  of  treatment." — New  York  Critic. 

"A  monumental  work.  .  .  .  Professor  McMaster  gives  on  every  page 
ample  evidence  of  exhaustive  research  for  his  facts." — Rochester  Herald. 

"The  reader  can  not  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the  wealth  of  material  out 
of  which  the  author  has  weighed  and  condensed  and  arranged  his  matter." 
— Detroit  P^ree  Press. 

"  Professor  McMaster  is  our  most  popular  historian.  .  .  .  He  never 
wearies,  even  when  dealing  with  subjects  that  would  be  most  wearisome 
under  clumsier  handling.  This  fifth  volume  is  the  most  triumphant  evi- 
dence of  his  art." — New  York  Herald. 

D.  APPLETON  AND   COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


By  EDGAR  STANTON  MACLAY,  A,  M, 
A  History  of  American  Privateers. 

By  EDGAR  STANTON  MACLAY,  A.  M.,  author  of  "A  History  of 
the  United  States  Navy."  Uniform  with  "A  History  of  the 
United  States  Navy.*'  One  volume.  Illustrated.  8vo.  Cloth, 
$3.50. 

After  several  years  of  research  the  distinguished  historian  of  American  sea  power 
presents  the  first  comprehensive  account  of  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  absorb- 
ing phases  of  our  maritime  warfare.  The  importance  of  the  theme  is  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  the  value  of  prizes  and  cargoes  taken  by  privateers  in  the  Revo- 
lution was  three  times  that  of  the  prizes  and  cargoes  taken  by  naval  vessels, 
while  in  the  War  of  1812  we  had  517  privateers  and  only  23  vessels  in  our 
navy.  The  intimate  connection  between  privateers  and  the  navy,  the  former 
serving  often  as  a  training  school  for  the  latter,  is  brought  out  in  the  author's 
narrative.  From  forgotten  monographs,  the  records  of  historical  societies,  from 
unpublished  log  books,  and  from  descendants  of  noted  privateersmen,  he  has 
obtained  intimate  and  vivid  accounts  of  the  fitting  out  of  the  vessels,  the 
incidents  of  their  voyages,  and  the  thrilling  adventures  of  the  brave  sailors  who 
manned  them.  Mr.  Maclay's  romantic  tale  is  accompanied  by  reproductions  of 
contemporary  pictures,  portraits,  and  documents,  and  also  by  illustrations  by 
Mr.  George  Gibbs. 

A  History  of  the   United  States  Navy,  from 
1775  to  1898. 

By  EDGAR  STANTON  MACLAY,  A.  M.  With  Technical  Revision 
by  Lieutenant  Roy  C.  Smith,  U.  S.  N.  New  edition,  revised 
and  enlarged,  with  new  chapters  and  several  new  Illustrations. 
In  two  volumes,  8vo.  Per  volume,  cloth,  $3.50. 

This  work  has  been  adopted  as  the  Text- Book  upon  United  States  Naval 
History  in  the  U.  S.  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis. 

The  Private  Journal  of  William  Maclay, 

United  States  Senator  from  Pennsylvania,  1789-1791.  With 
Portrait  from  Original  Miniature.  Edited  by  EDGAR  S.  MACLAY, 
A.M.  Large  8 vo.  Cloth,  $2.25. 

During  his  two  years  in  the  Senate  William  Maclay  kept  a  journal  of  his 
own  in  which  he  minutely  recorded  the  transactions  of  each  day.  This  record 
throws  a  flood  of  light  on  the  doings  of  our  first  legislators. 

D.  APPLETON  AND   COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


FRANK   M.   CHAPMAN'S   BOOKS. 
Bird  Studies  with  a  Camera. 

With  Introductory  Chapters  on  the  Outfit  and  Methods  of  the 
Bird  Photographer.  By  FRANK  M.  CHAPMAN,  Assistant  Curator 
of  Vertebrate  Zoology  in  the  American  Museum  of  Natural 
History ;  Author  of  "  Handbook  of  Birds  of  Eastern  North 
America''  and  "Bird- Life."  Illustrated  with  over  100  Photo- 
graphs from  Nature  by  the  Author.  I  zmo.  Cloth,  $1.75. 

Bird  students  and  photographers  will  find  that  this  book  possesses  for  them  a  unique 
interest  and  value.  It  contains  fascinating  accounts  of  the  habits  of  some  of  our  com- 
mon birds  and  descriptions  of  the  largest  bird  colonies  existing  in  eastern  North  Amer- 
ica; while  its  author's  phenomenal  success  in  photographing  birds  in  Nature  not  only 
lends  to  the  illustrations  the  charm  of  realism,  but  makes  the  book  a  record  of  surpris- 
ing achievements  with  the  camera.  Several  of  these  illustrations  have  been  described 
by  experts  as  "  the  most  remarkable  photographs  of  wild  life  we  have  ever  seen."  The 
book  is  practical  as  well  as  descriptive,  and  in  the  opening  chapters  the  questions  of 
camera,  lens,  plates,  blinds,  decoys,  and  other  pertinent  matters  are  fully  discussed. 

Bird-Life. 

A  Guide  to  the  Study  of  our  Common  Birds.  With  75  full-page 
uncolored  plates  and  25  drawings  in  the  text,  by  ERNEST  SETON 
THOMPSON.  Library  Edition.  1 2mo.  Cloth,  $1.75. 

The  Same,  with  lithographic  plates  in  colors.      8vo.      Cloth,  $5.00. 

TEACHERS'  EDITIpN.  Same  as  Library  Edition,  but  con- 
taining an  Appendix  with  new  matter  designed  for  the  use  of 
teachers,  and  including  lists  of  birds  for  each  month  of  the  year. 
I2mo.  Cloth,  $2.00. 

TEACHERS'  MANUAL.  To  accompany  Portfolios  of  Colored 
Plates  of  Bird-Life.  Contains  the  same  text  as  the  Teachers' 
Edition  of  "Bird-Life,"  but  is  without  the  75  uncolored  plates. 
Sold  only  with  the  Portfolios,  as  follows  : 

Portfolio  No.  I. — Permanent  Residents  and  Winter  Visitants.  32 
plates. 

Portfolio  No.  II. — March  and  April  Migrants.      34  plates. 

Portfolio  No.  III. — May  Migrants,  Types  of  Birds'  Eggs,  Types  of 
Birds'  Nests  from   Photographs  from  Nature.      34  plates. 
Price  of  Portfolios,   each,   $1.25;  with   Manual,   $2.00.      The 
three  Portfolios  with  Manual,  $4.00. 

Handbook  of  Birds  of  Eastern  North  America. 

With  nearly  200  Illustrations.  I  zmo.  Library  Edition,  cloth, 
$3.00  ;  Pocket  Edition,  flexible  morocco,  $3.50. 

D.  APPLETON  AND   COMPANY,  NEW  YORK. 


FOR  NATURE  LOVERS  AND  ANGLERS. 

Familiar  Fish:    Their  Habits  and 
Capture. 

A  Practical  Book  on  Fresh- Water  Game  Fish. 
By  EUGENE  MCCARTHY.  With  an  Introduction 
by  Dr.  David  Starr  Jordan,  President  of  Leland 
Stanford  Junior  University,  and  numerous  Illus- 
trations. I2mo.  Cloth,  $1.50. 

This  informing  and  practical  book  describes  in  a  most  inter- 
esting fashion  the  habits  and  environment  of  our  familiar  fresh- 
water game  fish,  including  anadromous  fish  like  the  salmon  and 
sea  trout.  The  life  of  a  fish  is  traced  in  a  manner  very  interest- 
ing to  Nature  lovers,  while  the  simple  and  useful  explanations  of 
the  methods  of  angling  for  different  fish  will  be  appreciated  by 
fishermen  old  and  young.  As  one  of  the  most  experienced  of 
American  fishermen,  Mr.  McCarthy  is  able  to  speak  with  au- 
thority regarding  salmon,  trout,  ouananiche,  bass,  pike,  and  pick- 
erel, and  other  fish  which  are  the  object  of  the  angler's  pursuit. 
His  clear  and  practical  counsel  as  to  fly-casting,  and  rods  and 
tackle  and  their  use,  and  his  advice  as  to  outfits  and  the  various 
details  of  camp  life,  render  his  book  a  most  useful  companion  for 
all  sportsmen  and  campers.  Dr.  David  Starr  Jordan  has  read 
the  manuscript,  and  has  lent  the  weight  of  his  approval  by  writ- 
ing an  introduction.  The  book  is  profusely  illustrated  with  pic- 
tures and  serviceable  diagrams. 

D.     APPLETON     AND      COMPANY,     NEW     YORK. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  USEFUL  STORIES. 

Illustrated.     J6mo.    Cloth,  40  cents  per  volume. 

NOW  READY. 

The  Story  Of  the  Alphabet.     By  EDWARD  CLODD. 
The  Story  Of  Eclipses.     By  G.  F.  CHAMBERS. 

The  Story  of  the  Living  Machine.  By  H.  w.  CONN. 
The  Story  of  the  British  Race.  By  JOHN  MUNRO,  c.  E. 
The  Story  of  Geographical  Discovery.  By  JOSEPH 

JACOBS. 

The  Story  of  the  Cotton  Plant.  By  F.WILKINSON,  F.G.S. 

The  Story  Of  the   Mind.     By  Prof.  J.  MARK  BALDWIN. 
The  Story  of  Photography.      By  ALFRED  T.  STORY. 

The  Story  of  Life  in  the  Seas.    By  SIDNEY  j.  HICKSON. 

The  Story  of  Germ  Life.    By  Prof.  H.  w.  CONN. 

The  Story  of  the  Earth's  Atmosphere.    By  DOUG- 

LAS  ARCHIBALD. 

The  Story  of  Extinct  Civilizations  of  the  East. 

By  ROBERT  ANDERSON,  M.  A.,  F.  A.  S. 

The  Story  of  Electricity.    By  JOHN  MUNRO,  c.  E. 
The  Story  of  a  Piece  of  Coal.   By  E.  A.  MARTIN,  F.G.S. 
The  Story  of  the  Solar  System.    By  c.  F.  CHAMBERS, 

F.  R.  A.  S. 

The  Story  of  the  Earth.    By  H.  G.  SEELEY,  F.  R.  s. 

The  Story  Of  the  Plants.     By  GRANT  ALLEN. 

The  Story  of  "  Primitive  "  Man.    By  EDWARD  CLODD. 

The  Story  Of  the  Stars.     By  G.  F.  CHAMBERS,  F.R.A.S. 

OTHERS   IN   PREPARATION. 

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